An online vaping products retailer is calling for tougher enforcement of laws banning under-age vape sales after discovering that complaints to local authorities rose significantly in the last year.
The Vape Club says that there were more than 4,500 reports to councils of illegal vape sales to children in 2023, a 31% increase on the previous 12 months.
Scotland saw the biggest increase, at 79%, says the company, which says it obtained the data using Freedom of Information requests.
Despite the rising number of complaints, the Vape Club says local authorities are failing to take action, with only two in five perpetrators of underage vape sales in Scotland receiving a fine, and a further two in five let off without a warning.
It says Scottish councils issued a total of £1,142 of fines, despite the maximum penalty for a single offence being as high as £2,500.
In total, the Vape Club surveyed 138 authorities across the UK for its 2024 Underage Vape Sales Report.
Vape Club director Dan Marchant says higher fines together with a licensing system for vape retailers would do much to solve the problem.
“The government needs to support local councils in enforcing stricter penalties,” it says. “While some progress is being made, it’s clear that there’s still plenty more that can be done to tackle the issue of underage vape sales.”
He adds: “A licensing framework could provide £50 million annually to Trading Standards without burdening taxpayers, allowing for stricter enforcement and higher fines, which are necessary as rogue retailers currently face little risk of being caught. Currently, the maximum fine for violations is £2,500, but fines are often much lower. We’d like to see fines raised to at least £10,000, with higher penalties for repeat offenders.”
