Three businesses in Barking and Dagenham are now under investigation after they were caught selling vapes to young people aged 13 and 14.

The operation, which took place on Friday 30 December, saw the young people visit 15 local businesses to try and buy vapes. 12 of the businesses visited passed the test and refused to sell to the young people, however three shops failed and sold vapes to the teenagers.

It’s illegal in the UK to sell cigarettes or vapes with nicotine to anyone aged under 18 and the business and salesperson can be prosecuted for this.

Councillor Syed Ghani, Cabinet Member for Enforcement and Community Safety said: “There are many products that are not allowed to be sold to people under the age of 18 and vapes are included.

“Vapes are addictive and can lead to people smoking other products, which could have an adverse impact on people’s health. It’s important that we protect our young residents by taking action on businesses that are not following the rules.”

The council’s Trading Standards run several operations to protect our young people, whether that be for cigarettes, alcohol or vapes.

These three businesses are now under investigation and face being prosecuted for breaking the law under the Nicotine Inhaling Products (Age of Sale and Proxy Purchasing) Regulations 2015.