WIREDGOV

The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) release the below statement in response to the Government's announcement today regarding steps being taken to crack down on rogue firms targeting children with free samples.

John Herriman, Chief Executive at the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, said:

“We welcome the announcement today from the Prime Minister for potential additional powers for Trading Standards to help combat the rise in vaping amongst young people. These measures are necessary because of the recent rise in youth vaping and because some retailers are not acting responsibly and continue to knowingly sell to people under 18 years old. Giving Trading Standards powers to issue Fixed Penalty Notices is a helpful additional tool to help us reduce the accessibility of vapes to young people. In addition to reducing the accessibility of vaping we also want to ensure that vaping becomes less attractive to non-smoking young people and welcome the measures to address the youth appeal of vapes through marketing and promotional activities in shops.”