Northampton shop caught selling e-cigarette to teen during undercover trading standards operation

A Northampton shop sold an e-cigarette to a girl under the legal purchasing age during a test operation carried out by West Northamptonshire Council’s Trading Standards team this month.

Two 16 year-old girls, under the supervision of Trading Standards’ officers, visited 13 shops across Daventry and Northampton in August to attempt to buy e-cigarettes and cigarettes. The legal age for purchasing both items is 18.

Twelve out of 13 shops correctly asked the underage girls for ID and refused sale when they could not produce any.

However, one shop in Northampton sold them an e-cigarette making no attempt to ask for proof of age and will now face further investigation as a consequence.

Cabinet member for community safety, engagement and regulatory services at WNC, councillor David Smith, said: “It is encouraging to see that 12 out of 13 shops stopped and asked this girl for ID when attempting to purchase tobacco-based products, however, this operation demonstrates that there is still work to do.

"Asking someone how old they are, or making an assumption about their age is not enough. All shops must have policies in place to challenge young people buying age restricted goods, such as alcohol, tobacco or vaping products."

All of the shops chosen for the exercise were the subject of complaints about underage sales. Shopkeepers across West Northamptonshire have been reminded of the proof-of-age checks they must make before selling tobacco or e-cigarettes.

Most businesses do this by operating a ‘Challenge 25’ policy. This policy means that, if a customer looks under the age of 25, they must show proof of age and staff must be trained to verify the customer’s age before selling age-restricted products.

The vape and cigarette test purchases were part of an enforcement project supported by the Department of Health & Social Care that aims to ensure e-cigarettes or e-liquids are not sold to people under the age of 18.

It follows a previous operation in April, when one out of six shops visited in West Northamptonshire sold e-cigarettes to a 16-year-old girl.

People can report underage sales to the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 0808 223 1133.