Police Cadets assist with local crackdown on underage vape sales
Plymouth Police Cadets recently assisted with a local operation aimed at tackling vape sales to underage people.
The Trading Standards operation was supported by Devon & Cornwall Police’s Child Centred Policing Team and Police Cadet students under the age of 18. The operation involved cadets entering a number of shops in Plymouth to try purchase a vape. The officers and cadets were dressed in plain clothes to not raise any suspicion during the operation.
A total of six visits were completed on the day. Five of these shops asked for ID to validate age of the young person, with each of these refusing the sale when age verification was not possible. Only one shop failed and is currently being investigated by Trading Standards.
The Child Centred Policing team said: “We are pleased our Police Cadets were able to support with this operation. Vapes and e-cigarettes are becoming very popular, and it is important that underage people cannot illegally purchase these until they reach the age of 18. It’s great that our cadets and officers were able to provide some support to help tackle this issue and continue safeguarding young people.”
Vapes are battery operated devices that are used to simulate smoking and can contain nicotine. The legal age to purchase vape in the UK is 18 years old.
To report concerns of businesses engaging in illegal activity or to log non-urgent crimes happening in your area, please visit our website or call 101. If you would like to report crimes anonymously please visit Crimestoppers. For all emergencies call 999.
To contact Trading Standards, email tradingstandards@devon.gov.uk or phone 01392 383000.
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