Parliamentary Matters 4
Our final sojourn of the week to the House of Commons sees Ruth Cadbury thinking about children vaping and rogue traders selling illegal vapes
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by Dave Cross
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Our final sojourn of the week to the House of Commons sees Transport Committee Chair Ruth Cadbury thinking about preventing children vaping and the problem with rogue traders continuing to sell illicit vape products. Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Health and Social Care Ashley Dalton fielded the questions on behalf of her Department.
Ruth Cadbury, Labour Member of Parliament for Brentford and Isleworth, asked the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care what estimate has been made of how many 12 to 16 year olds use vapes in Hounslow and across London.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary Ashley Dalton, Labour Member of Parliament for West Lancashire, informed Ruth Cadbury: “NHS England publishes estimates of the prevalence of vaping in children from the Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use among Young People in England Survey. This survey covers children in years seven to 11 in secondary school of whom the majority will be aged between 12 and 16 years old but some children aged 11 years old will also be included. Data on the use of vapes in children is not available at local authority level.
“The latest figures for London are from the 2023 survey which showed that 4% of children were regular vapers, while 18% reported having ever tried vaping. The report is available at the following link:
The Transport Committee chair then asked the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care what assessment has been made of the adequacy of the powers available to local authorities to take enforcement action against rogue traders selling illicit vapes or supplying underage customers.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary Ashley Dalton told Ruth Cadbury: “Trading Standards Officers currently have a range of enforcement tools at their disposal to enforce age of sale restrictions and take a proportionate approach to enforcement that reflects the severity of the offence committed. When necessary, this includes prosecuting offenders which can result in courts imposing a fine of up to £2,500, and, in the case of repeat offences, applying for a restricted premises order or restricted sale order. £200 fixed penalty notices introduced by the Tobacco and Vapes Bill will complement existing sanctions and support Trading Standards to crack down on retailers selling to people underage.
“To ensure that local authorities are provided with the appropriate powers to enforce measures in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, provisions in the Bill give Trading Standards Officers investigatory powers set out in Schedule 5 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Future regulations relating to vaping product requirements will also provide appropriate powers for enforcement authorities to carry out their duties.
“We will complete a post-implementation review of the measures in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill in due course.”
The problem identified by retailers and enforcement officers is not the provision of legislation, it’s the funding. Not only is there a gap between promised funds, but those funds have not been released in their entirety.
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.
