Nicotine Inhaling Products sales to Under 18's
Case reference FOI2024/00372
Published 11 March 2024
Request
Under the Freedom of Information Act, I would like to request the following information related to the enforcement of the Children and Families Act 2014, as amended by The Nicotine Inhaling Products (Age of Sale and Proxy Purchasing) Regulations 2015. Specifically, please provide me with:
1. The number of individuals who have been prosecuted in the last 12 months within your organisation's jurisdiction for the sale of nicotine inhaling products (sometimes known as "e-cigarettes", "vapes", or "vapour products") to individuals aged under 18, due to investigations conducted by Herefordshire Council.
2. The number of businesses and sole traders subject to any penalty in the last 12 months (including but not limited to fine, opening restrictions, removal of premises license) for the sale of nicotine inhaling products (sometimes known as "e-cigarettes", "vapes", or "vapour products") to individuals aged under 18, due to investigations conducted by Herefordshire Council.
3. The number of shops, and other places of business (including but not limited to market stalls, 'car-boot sales' and other point of sale locations) that council employees have visited in the last 12 months for the purposes of detection and disruption of the sale of nicotine inhaling products to individuals aged under 18.
4. The number of trading standard officers employed by the council whose job description, roles and responsibilities, entail the investigation, detection, and disruption of the sale of nicotine inhaling products to individuals aged under 18 and/or the removal of illicit products from retailers.
Response
1. The number of individuals who have been prosecuted in the last 12 months within your organisation's jurisdiction for the sale of nicotine inhaling products (sometimes known as "e-cigarettes", "vapes", or "vapour products") to individuals aged under 18, due to investigations conducted by Herefordshire Council.
A: One
2. The number of businesses and sole traders subject to any penalty in the last 12 months (including but not limited to fine, opening restrictions, removal of premises license) for the sale of nicotine inhaling products (sometimes known as "e-cigarettes", "vapes", or "vapour products") to individuals aged under 18, due to investigations conducted by Herefordshire Council.
A: None - Sentencing has not yet occurred for the prosecution listed above and four separate investigations for the sale of nicotine inhaling products to under 18's are ongoing.
3. The number of shops, and other places of business (including but not limited to market stalls, 'car-boot sales' and other point of sale locations) that council employees have visited in the last 12 months for the purposes of detection and disruption of the sale of nicotine inhaling products to individuals aged under 18.
A: 81 premises subject to inspections and advisory visits relating to underage sales of nicotine inhaling products.
Of which 19 test purchase attempts were made by under 18's on behalf of Trading Standards.
4. The number of trading standard officers employed by the council whose job description, roles and responsibilities, entail the investigation, detection, and disruption of the sale of nicotine inhaling products to individuals aged under 18 and/or the removal of illicit products from retailers.
A: Three officer's general job descriptions includes the above.
Documents
This is Herefordshire Council's response to a freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) request.
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