Agenda item

To receive a report providing members with information on Trading Standards work relating to the supply of non-compliant disposable ‘nicotine inhaling products’) commonly referred to as ‘’vapes’ or ‘e-cigarettes’.

Samuel Abdullahi, (Senior Enforcement Officer, Brent Council) presented a report providing Members with information of Trading Standards work on the supply of non-compliant disposable ‘nicotine inhaling products’ commonly referred to as ‘’vapes’ or ‘e-cigarettes’.

In considering the report the Joint Board noted:

·             The wide ranging supply and use of non-compliant disposable e-cigarettes across both Boroughs and also widely reported regionally across London and the United Kingdom.

·             The legal requirements contained within the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 in relation to the supply and sale of e-cigarettes and refill containers, as detailed in section 3 of the report.

·             To date, across the Service, a total of 199 business premises had been visited and given comprehensive advice.  Inspections of stock within the premises had led to over 3,700 non-compliant e-cigarettes voluntarily removed from sale by businesses.  A total of 770 e-cigarettes had been seized from businesses following re-visits, which identified voluntary undertakings had not been followed.  General non-compliance covered areas such as tank size capacity, non-registration and incorrect warnings and no names of producers in the UK.

·             Using a base of £5 per item, the removed products had totalled a minimum retail value of £117,350.

·             The advice and guidance being provided to businesses in terms of the sourcing of supplies of e-cigarettes and e-liquid products, as detailed in sections 3.12 – 3.14 of the report.

·             The programme of test purchases undertaken in relation to the sale of e-cigarette products to those under the age of 18, with the Service having undertaken 28 test purchases using child volunteers under the age of 18.  Of these sales, there were 8 occasions where a child was sold to, which represented a non-compliance rate of 28.5% and each of these cases were currently under investigation.

·             The increase in popularity of disposable e-cigarettes with younger people, with work still ongoing to assess the longer term impact on health given the potential for users to still become addicted to the products as a result of the nicotine contained within them, hence the supply and sale being age restricted.

The following issues were then raised by Members of the Board in response to the update provided:

·             Whilst commending officers for the work undertaken to date, Members remained concerned at the level of non-compliant and illegally imported products being identified and seized.  In response, the Board were advised of the work being undertaken jointly with the custom and police services to tackle the illegal importing of these products in order to identify and target the main suppliers as well as to address their sale locally.

·             Further details were sought on the work being undertaken with local schools to raise awareness and assist in tackling the underage sale of products within their catchment areas.  In response, Members were advised of the work being undertaken with school leaders to provide advice and guidance, particularly in areas where specific issues had been identified.

·             The wide ranging nature of the issues and challenges identified in terms of addressing the illegal sale of e-cigarette products were recognised given the range of premises from which they were available, such as hairdressers, and phone accessory shops that would not commonly be associated with the sale of these types of products.

·             Members support for further lobbying of Government in order to enhance the regulation for the supply and sale of e-cigarette products and to support (as a priority) the action being taken to prevent their illegal importing and supply recognising the work already being undertaken nationally, regionally and locally by Trading Standard Services and the Customs Service to disrupt the chain of import and supply.

·             Members support for the action identified within the report to address the illegal supply and sale of e-cigarette products, given the potential health issues identified and way they were being marketed to attract use particularly amongst young people through the range of flavours and packaging being offered.

In welcoming the update and supporting the approach and work being undertaken to address the illegal supply and sale of e-cigarette products the Joint Board thanked officers for the report and RESOLVED to endorse and note the report in relation to the Brent and Harrow Trading Standards Service for 2022/23.