The vaping debate | Editor’s comment

By David Shrimpton in Talking Points 13th November 2023

Our exclusive survey on the subject of under-age vaping revealed a wide range of views among independent retailers. One point that came up time and again, though, was that ‘corner shops’ appear once again to be getting fingered for the problem, when in fact most of the responsibility lies elsewhere.

As with the issues of under-age drinking and smoking over the years, there seems to be a knee-jerk assumption among politicians, the media and the general public that small, local shops are to blame – irresponsibly selling products to young teenagers and flouting the law in order to make an unscrupulous fast buck.

While there are undoubtedly some retailers across the country that are ignoring the rules, the overwhelming majority of convenience stores have robust policies in place to combat under-age sales of tobacco, alcohol, lottery tickets and other age-restricted products and are diligently applying those policies to vape sales as well.

As many respondents pointed out in our survey, most under-age vapers appear to be getting their supplies elsewhere – proxy purchasing by their parents or older teenagers, through social media and online marketplaces, or from other less-regulated outlets such as mobile phone shops.

How many of these types of store have refusals registers or Challenge 25 policies in place, I wonder?

Proposals being considered by the government include restricting flavours and colours felt to be particularly attractive to youngsters – such as bubble-gum or candy floss – and even an outright ban on disposable vapes.

While some of these measures might help tackle the problem in the longer term, what would be helpful in the short term at least would be to ensure adequate funding for trading standards departments across the country so they have the resources in place to enforce the existing legislation and crack down on illegal sellers.

Rather than being at the root of the problem, convenience stores could turn out to be part of the solution.

David Shrimpton | Editor