Right To Vape

The Local Authorities Coordinators of Regulatory Services (LACORS), Trading Standards Institute (TSI) and The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) recently sent a formal letter to the Department of Health outlining changes they would like to see made to existing legislations so they includes electronic cigarettes.

One of the primary concerns raised in the document is the complete lack of age restriction on the sale of electronic cigarettes; an issue which should be addressed by the government sooner rather than later.

    “There is no existing legislation to deal with Electronic Cigarettes as age restricted products and thus the product may be legally sold to young persons of any age. Contrast this with thelegislation controlling for example, tobacco products, alcohol, solvents and fireworks all ofwhich are age restricted in order to protect the health and well being of young people.”

A large number of suppliers actively enforce an age restriction of 18 when retailing these products, but there are a few less scrupulous suppliers who are exploiting the lack of legislation.

Another point which the document addresses is the challenge in the enforcement of Smokefree legislation in public places:

    “The inability to easily distinguish between a normal and an e-cigarette leads to confusion and upset amongst the public which can give rise to complaints as they believe that breaches of the legislation are taking place, and they are being subjected to cigarette smoke whilst in a no-smoking area. The use of e-cigarettes in premises where the law prohibits smoking could well encourage people to smoke, either in the mistaken belief that the law does not apply or is not being enforced, or that the individuals concerned will not be noticed and reported. There is also real potential for public order offences being committed where individuals are approached and asked or told to stop and this is challenged.”

After this the organisations go on to comment that they believe that electronic cigarettes should be classified as tobacco products and subject to the relevant legislation.