Retailers reminded of age checking responsibility after survey shows teens buy vapes from corner shops the most

The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has reiterated its support for tough enforcement action against those who sell vapes and other age restricted products to underage customers.

New figures released today by health charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) show that of the 7.6 per cent of young people (11-17 year olds) who currently vape, 72 per cent usually buy vapes themselves. Of those, just over a quarter (26%) say they buy them from corner shops.

“The vast majority of retailers selling these products are responsible, community retailers that have clear and robust age verification policies in place, but there remain some businesses that are falling short,” James Lowman, ACS chief executive, said.

“We welcome tough enforcement against any retailer found to be selling vapes to people under 18.”

In its guide on selling vapes responsibly, ACS encourages retailers to use the robust Challenge25 policy for the sale of vapes, as is already the case for other age restricted products like alcohol or tobacco.

The government recently announced an additional £3 million in resources to tackle the illicit vaping market, aimed at removing illegal products from shelves.

ACS’ guide to selling vapes responsibly and recognising legitimate products, which has been developed alongside Surrey and Buckinghamshire Trading Standards is available here.

The ASH survey has found no significant change between 2022 and 2023 in the proportion of 11-17 year olds currently vaping (6.9% in 2022 and 7.6% in 2023) or smoking (4.8% in 2022 and 3.6% in 2023). However, the proportion of children who have experimented with vaping has grown significantly since last year, up from 7.7 per cent to 11.6 per cent,