Ban on selling nicotine pouches and nicotine-free vapes to under-18s takes effect

Mixed · 2New rules took effect on 29 October banning the sale of nicotine pouches and nicotine-free vapes to under-18s. 1 2 Left · 1Selling nicotine vapes to under-18s was already illegal; the new law extends the ban to other nicotine products, including pouches, and to non-nicotine vapes, and makes it an offence for adults to buy or try to buy the products for a child. 1 Mixed · 2The rules also ban vending-machine sales and promotions such as discounts and free samples. 1 2

Centre · 1The Evening Standard reports the Scottish version of the ban, which also covers herbal smoking products. The Scottish Government said anyone selling nicotine products must hold a valid registration by 29 April, making Scotland the only part of the UK to know where such products are sold. 2 Centre · 1Scottish public health minister Maree Todd said nicotine products, particularly pouches, are gaining popularity among young people and that the ban is a crucial step in protecting health. 2 Centre · 1Scotland's chief medical officer Gregor Smith said non-smokers should never start using nicotine products, though vapes may help addicted people stop smoking. Sheila Duffy, chief executive of ASH Scotland, welcomed the measures as closing legal loopholes. 2

Left · 1Sir Chris Whitty, the UK's Chief Medical Officer, called aiming to addict under-18s to nicotine "completely unacceptable" and said the regulations should make it harder to profit from doing so. He said some companies had used loopholes to give out products free at festivals and events, which will no longer be legal. 1 3 Left · 1Whitty said vaping can help established adult smokers switch to a less dangerous product and is considered safer than smoking, but that this is "a low bar", so children and non-smokers should never vape. He said the long-term harms of vaping in today's children will only become clear over time but are unlikely to be good. 3 Left · 1The Mirror says the measures include a £10 million-a-year boost and new recruits for Trading Standards, and that more than a million children have tried vaping, with more than 370,000 regular users. It quotes Nerys Evans, deputy minister for public and preventative health, who said vapes and nicotine products have been marketed towards young people. 1

Left · 1The changes are part of a phased rollout of the Tobacco and Vapes Act. The Mirror says the next major step, in January, bans sales of tobacco, herbal smoking products and cigarette papers to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009. Further plans cover packaging, flavours, displays and smoke-free and vape-free places. 1 3