New rules on the sale of vaping products are coming into force in the UK introducing tighter controls on how the products can be sold.
Currently it is against the law to sell a nicotine vaping product to anyone under the age of 18, however this restriction did not apply to non-nicotine vaping products in England and Wales.
NHS guidance currently says that vaping can be used as a harm reduction tool for people who already smoke tobacco as current scientific evidence suggests that tobacco smoke is linked to more health risks than vaping.
Nonetheless, it adds that vaping itself also poses a health risk, and study is ongoing to understand more clearly the precise health dangers that vaping has. People are also encouraged to not take up vaping in its own right but only to use it if they are already a smoker.
Despite vaping has seen an explosion in popularity, including among younger people, but the new rules will particularly target the sale of vape products to people under 18.
Whereas before in England and Wales only nicotine vaping products were restricted, new rules coming into force on 29 October will restrict the sale of all vaping products to under-18s.
Vaping is generally seen as less harmful than tobacco, but it is still harmful (LADBible)
It will also be illegal for someone over 18 to buy vaping products on behalf of someone who is under 18, like what is already in place for tobacco and alcohol.
But it’s not just new age restrictions that are coming into force, as there are also new rules coming into force about how vaping products can be promoted and advertised.
Under the new rules it will be illegal for someone to ‘give away a vaping or nicotine product for free where the purpose or effect is to promote the product’ – so like giving away free samples of a new vape flavour for example.
It will also be against the new rules to sell these products at a ‘substantial discount’ where ‘the purpose or effect is to promote the product’, as well as giving or selling coupons which give people discounts on vaping or nicotine products.
These new rules are principally aimed at retailers, and also include online retailers as well as in person.
Vaping can be used to reduce harm when quitting smoking, but it is discouraged to take it up if you are not a smoker (Getty Stock)
In England in Wales only nicotine vape products were subject to these rules, though in Scotland the rules did already extend towards all vaping products, including both with and without nicotine.
However in Scotland the law will also be extended to cover all nicotine products and not just vapes, for example pouches or patches.
That means that under the new rules retailers ‘must be satisfied that the customer is aged 18 or over’, and means that anyone who wants to buy vaping or nicotine products should anticipate having to show ID in order to prove their age if requested.
Retailers who sell vaping or nicotine products to people under the age of 18 could find themselves facing ‘formal action’ under the new rules.
This could include prosecution or being issued with a fixed penalty notice, a fine.
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