Report to the Tyne and Wear Trading Standards Joint Committee 7 November 2019 Nicotine Inhaling Products

Anneliese Hutchinson, Service Director, Communities and Environment, Gateshead Council

Purpose of the report

To update the Committee on a follow up project supported by the Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC), delivered and managed by Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI); the purpose is to assess on-going compliance with the Nicotine Inhaling Products (Age of Sale and Proxy Purchasing) Regulations 2015.

Context

These Regulations came into force on the 1st October 2015 and created a new offence for the supply of a nicotine inhaling product (including E cigarettes and associated products such as refills that contain nicotine) to a young person under the age of 18 years.

The Tobacco Control Survey 2018-19 reports that compliance is low with a National illegal sale rate of 40%. Specialist E cigarette suppliers and discount shops feature in the top 3 premise types most likely to make an illegal sale. Markets are the other most cited venue for under age sales of the products.

NOTE: the survey report has not yet been published by CTSI and detail is embargoed until publication later this year.

In the recently published report from Public Health England [PHE]; Vaping in England: Evidence update summary February 2019 it is stated that “whilst regular use of E cigarettes remains low, in England and Great Britain as a whole, experimentation with the products has steadily increased in recent years“.

This is further supported by studies from outside of the UK that “suggest a similar picture, with increasing experimentation and use of E Cigarettes over time among youth. There is evidence from the US that increasing vaping is happening against a backdrop of reducing cigarette smoking.” PHE recommend that “surveillance is needed on purchase sources by young people. “

The prevention and detection of illegal sales of nicotine inhaling products to young people remains an area of concern for trading standards and the DHSC hence support for this coordinated enforcement project.

The Project

The DHSC has agreed to support each TS Region in the conduct of a total of 50 test purchase attempts – 450 across England.

Officers will prioritise businesses that have made illegal sales in the recent past. Regional coordinators have allocated the tests namely 7 per local authority. Any “spares” will be offered to other regions on first come first served basis.

Financial support is available at £40 per test. There is no additional funding for the purchase of products. It is acknowledged that the fee does not reflect the complexity of the operation, it is a contribution.

Tests will be carried out using a young person under the age of 18 years, preferably aged between 16-17 years. In most cases it is expected that the test purchaser will be able to either select the product themselves OR request it by pointing to a product. If this is not possible, it may be necessary for the purchaser to ask for example “what can I buy for £10? “. If the retailer offers the young person, the opportunity to try the products this will be refused.

Products may include the following, disposable E cigarettes, rechargeable E cigarettes, E liquids (Tanks / refills).

Time Frame

The tests are to be carried out between October - December 2019. Regional collated data is to be returned to CTSI by 17th January 2020.

Recommendation

The Committee is asked to note the information as contained within the report.

Contact: Judith Shewan South Tyneside Council on (0191) 4247891 judith.shewan@southtyneside.gov.uk