The 2024 Underage Vape Sales Report

Key Findings

• In 2023, an underage vape sale was reported every two hours in the UK — 31% higher compared to the previous year.
• Two perpetrators were caught per day selling vapes to underage people in 2023.
• An average of 51% of reports of underage vape sales across all local authority areas resulted in a test purchase.
• There was an average of 25 test purchases per council carried out in 2023, contributing to a seven-fold rise in businesses caught selling vaping products to underage individuals compared to pre-pandemic figures.
• However, 83% of reports of underage vape sales still resulted in no perpetrator being identified.
• Of those caught, the average fine issued was £400 — six times lower than the maximum fine of £2,500.
• England sees the lowest success rate across all UK nations for converting reports of underage vape sales to sellers being caught.

How do these numbers compare to previous years?

The latest annual figures show that reports to local authorities of underage sales have increased by 31% in 2023. The latest annual figure for reports of underage vape sales is 36 times higher when compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

The number of reports converting into confirmed cases has also seen a significant rise. There were 776 businesses caught across the UK selling to underage people, an increase of 39% in 2023 compared to the previous year. This is a seven-fold rise compared to pre-pandemic figures.

However, despite reports rising to record highs in 2023, data indicates that enforcement may be struggling to keep up. 83% of reports of underage vape sales in 2023 resulted in no retailer being caught. This means as many as 8 in 10 rogue sellers faced no consequences — this needs to improve.

Is Inconsistent Underage Test Purchasing Enforcement Letting Dodgy Retailers Off The Hook?

Underage test purchasing is the main method Trading Standards authorities use to identify and deal with premises at risk of selling alcohol, tobacco and vapes to those under the age of 18 years. In 2023, an average of 51% of reports of underage vape sales across all local authority areas resulted in a test purchase (2,361 test purchases vs 4,563 reports).

While test purchasing can clearly be effective when carried out, there may be issues with underfunding of Trading Standards at a local level, which has been a result of budget cuts from the previous government. This is where a robust Retail & Distributor Licensing Framework for the Vape Sector comes in. The proposed changes would better enable regulators and Trading Standards to enforce existing and future legislation proactively as well as offer a stronger fine deterrence.

Our data reveals that test purchase events are becoming more common across the UK, and have increased by 145% in the latest year compared to the previous. There was an average of 25 test purchases carried out per council in 2023. However, an increase in the number of test purchases has shown diminishing returns, coinciding with a drop in the success rate catching retailers illegally selling to underage. In 2023, the success rate fell by 22% compared to 2022. This is on a downward trend, with the success rate falling by 29% versus 2021.

Some areas carried out more test purchase actions than others. Top test purchasing areas included Liverpool with 167 test purchases, 106 in Essex County Council, and 100 in Cheshire East Council. There were no test purchases made in Shetland, Kent County Council, Moray, Telford & Wrekin, and Flintshire local authority areas.

What Deterrent Is In Place To Stop Underage Vape Sales?

A major challenge remains in both deterring unscrupulous sellers, and ensuring consequences are enforced for businesses who are caught selling vapes to underage persons. There are worries that fines are still too low to effectively deter vape sales to teens, highlighting the critical need for more robust enforcement measures to tackle the issue.

What are the key statistics?

• 3 in 5 (59%) confirmed cases of underage vape sales received no fine and were just a warning in the latest year, while 2 in 5 (41%) caught selling vapes to teens received a fine — not only are we calling for every business caught to be issued a penalty, but for those penalties to be much higher so as to act as a genuine deterrent.
• Of all businesses caught selling vapes to minors who did receive a fine, the average amount was just £400 — more than six times lower than the current maximum penalty of £2,500.
• We are seeing improvements in local authorities setting stronger punishments for those caught — there’s been a 69% increase in fines handed out in the latest year, though this remains too low.
• A total of £126,000 worth of fines were handed out across the UK in the latest year.
• If the maximum fine was given to retailers caught selling to teens, the total value of fines would be £1.9 million last year.
• The latest data highlights where authorities have been slow to react to the issue and continued with years of “toothless” fine enforcement — 2022 saw a third of the total value of fines issued compared to 2023. In 2021 the value of fines were 3% of what was seen in 2023.
• The Tobacco and Vapes bill proposes enabling trading standards in England and Wales to hand out £100 on-the-spot fines. Scotland and Northern Ireland already have these powers — If the £100 was levied on the individual selling, we believe the business itself must still be liable for the much more significant £2500-£10000 fines to make this acceptable. If the business is being fined just £100 then it is basically pointless, £100 is not a deterrent.

Where Are The UK’s Hotspots For Underage Vape Sales?

While underage vape sales are a nationwide concern, reporting and enforcement levels vary across the regions. These discrepancies may stem from differences in funding allocated to tackle the issue, the possibility of more sophisticated operations by illegal sellers, or limitations in local authorities' power to impose fines, potentially leading to a lack of any real deterrent.

These figures highlight the need for a more consistent approach to tackling underage vape sales across the UK.

Key Local Findings:

Where has seen the most reports?

• Staffordshire County Council has received the highest number of reports of underage vape sales in the UK, with 195 in the latest year. From this, just 7 sellers were caught.
• This is followed by Hampshire County Council, with 169 reports and 2 caught; then Buckinghamshire Council and Surrey County Council, each with 154 reports and 7 caught.

Where have confirmed cases been highest?

• Liverpool City Council has caught 54 businesses selling vapes to underage persons in the latest year — the highest in the UK. This was followed by Belfast City Council, with 46; then South Lanarkshire, with 35.
• Liverpool also carried out the most test purchases of all UK local authorities — 167 were performed in 2023. This is seven times more than the UK average.

What does the enforcement data tell us?

• Belfast fined all 77 perpetrators caught selling vapes to underaged people since the turn of the decade.
• South Lanarkshire has a similar track record, where all 35 perpetrators received a fine — Northern Ireland and Scotland are the only home nations able to issue on-the-spot fines to perpetrators.
• London’s Southwark council issued the most warnings in the UK since the turn of the decade, with 67 handed out. This was followed by North Yorkshire with 53, and East Sussex with 48.

London

The capital has been the location of leading initiatives to tackle not only underage vape sales, but also the sale of illegal vaping products as shown in our 2024 Illegal Vaping Report. Our data found that:

• London saw a 68% surge in the number of reported underage vape sales in 2023.
• A little over one in three (35%) reports of underage vape sales in London resulted in a seller being caught — two-fold higher than the UK average, and the highest across the UK when compared to Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and England authorities outside London.
• Despite the high identification rate of rogue retailers, many get off with a warning — just 17% of the 90 caught received a fine.

North West England

With urban areas in the North West developing at a rapid rate, the population has been the target of unscrupulous traders and retailers willing to break the law. Our data found these areas in the region are where underage vape sales are among the most prevalent:

• Three of the top five local authorities in England with the highest confirmed cases of underage sales in 2023 are in the North West — Liverpool City Council with 54, Manchester City Council with 27, and Cheshire East with 19.
• Despite the high number of confirmed cases, three in four (74%) perpetrators in Manchester got off without any punishment.
• Liverpool City Council has the highest number of confirmed cases of underage vape sales in the UK.
• Liverpool also carried out the most test purchases of all UK local authorities — 167 were performed in 2023. This is seven times more than the UK average.
• 37% of sellers of vapes to underage people in Liverpool have so far got off without a warning or fine. Of the 54 caught selling to teens, 34 have seen punishment.

Key national data from around the UK

England statistics:

• The nation is a split picture when it comes to catching perpetrators. London sees 35% of reports converting to sellers of underage vapes caught. Whereas outside the capital, just 13% of reports result in a seller being caught, despite the number of reports of retailers flouting the age limits increasing by 20% in the latest year, outside the capital.
• Across England in 2023, including the capital, there were 512 perpetrators of illegal vape sales caught — the equivalent of 10 every week.
• Just 22% of these sellers received a fine or penalty — half that of the UK average of 41%.
• The number of warnings issued to sellers caught fell by 13% last year, compared to the previous year.

Wales statistics:

• Wales falls behind on enforcement of underage vape sales, with 65% of confirmed cases getting off without either a warning or fine — the lowest of all UK countries.
• There were 309 reports of underage vape sales to local authorities in Wales in 2023, an increase of 57% compared to the previous year.
• Just 18% of reports of underage vape sales in Wales resulted in a seller being caught — a drop of 43% compared to the previous year.
• One in twenty perpetrators of underage vape sales received a fine or penalty in the latest year.

Scotland statistics:

• In the latest year, Scotland has seen a 79% increase in reports of vape sales to underage persons — the sharpest increase across the nations.
• Enforcement action in 2023 is having an impact, as the number of suppliers caught selling vapes to underage persons increased by 132% compared to 2022.
• Two in five underage vape suppliers in Scotland got away without even a warning issued.
• In Scotland, where forces have the power to issue on the spot fines, there’s been a 46% increase in the number of fines or penalties issued per confirmed case.

Northern Ireland statistics:

• There has been a 65% increase since 2022 in confirmed cases of businesses unlawfully selling vaping products to underage persons — 61 perpetrators were caught in 2023.
• Compared to 2022, there's been a 67% increase in the number of warnings issued per confirmed case in 2023.
• Just 18% of reports of underage vape sales in Wales resulted in a seller being caught — a drop of 43% compared to the previous year.
• Compared to the previous year, there’s been a 55% increase in fines issued to businesses caught selling vaping products to underage people.

What Needs To Change?

While progress is being made, it’s clear that there’s still plenty more that can be done to tackle the issue of underage vape sales in the UK. We have proposed a Vape Retail & Distributor Licensing Framework and it’s a key piece in the puzzle. The aim of the framework is:

• To create a sustainable and viable funding base for enforcement and inspection functions relating to the vape sector.
• To foster a more responsible and accountable sector by tackling key concerns and challenges such as youth access and illicit product sales.
• To better enable regulators and Trading Standards to proactively enforce existing and future legislation.
• To reinstate trust in the legitimate vape industry and enable vaping to fulfil its potential through helping the UK hit its smoke-free 2030 ambition.

We believe this is a crucial first step in identifying perpetrators of underage vape sales and issuing the appropriate level of enforcement. Vaping should continue to be a force for good, and play a central role in the UK’s ambitions to become smoke-free by 2030.

Methodology

To investigate the issue of underage vape sales in the UK we submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to all local authorities, from which 138 provided data. 98 councils provided test purchasing data. The data spanned 2019 - 2023, and included;

• The number of reports local authorities received concerning underage vape sales.
• The number of test purchases carried out, and the number of these which resulted in a sale of a vaping product to underage persons.
• The number of confirmed cases of businesses unlawfully selling vaping products to underage persons.
• The number of warnings issued to businesses caught selling vaping products to underage persons.
• The number of licence reviews, fines or penalties issued to businesses caught selling vaping products to underage persons.
• The total value of fines or penalties issued (GBP), to businesses caught selling vaping products to underage persons.

Summing Up

We hope this report has achieved its aim in shining a light on the high level of illegal activity that still exists within the industry. While these rogue traders are not a reflection on the hundreds of vape retailers and distributors in the UK who follow the letter of the law, it’s clear that more needs to be done to curtail these illegal efforts. If you have any questions about this report or vaping, please get in touch with us.