Underage sales
What the legislation does
Protects young people by restricting access to products which
might be injurious to health (cigarettes and tobacco, butane gas,
solvents, fireworks, petrol) or which have been been restricted by
virtue of maturity (video works, lottery tickets).
Videos
- It is a requirement that all video films are submitted to the
British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) for certification.
- This certification process can either exempt or impose
age-related conditions on the video.
- Businesses are prohibited from selling or renting videos to
persons under the age limits imposed on the video.
- For example a video classified as 18, cannot be supplied
to a person under that age.
Tobacco
Retailers must not sell cigarettes or tobacco products to
persons under the age of 18.
- Trading Standards routinely carries out inspections and
undertakes test purchases from retailers.
- It is a legal requirement that all retailers of cigarettes or
tobacco products display an A3 size notice stating "It is illegal
to sell tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18" near the
cigarette counter. The size of the letters must be at least 36mm
high.
- If the cigarettes are sold through a vending machine then a
smaller notice (60x100mm) must be displayed on the machine stating
"This machine is only for the use of people aged 18 or over". The
size of the letters must be at least 6mm high.
- Legislation restricts the size, format and content of tobacco
advertisements at point of sale, vending machines and
publications.
- Advertising and sponsorship of tobacco is banned
Marking/warning labels on cigarettes and tobacco products is
specified
- Prevents sale of cigarettes other than from original
packets.
- Prevents sale of oral tobacco
products.
Fireworks
- The sale of fireworks is restricted to those who are
apparently over the age of 18 years.
- All retailers are required to register the premises used to
store the explosives with Environment Services.
- Fireworks must be kept in a cabinet, which is not accessible to
customers.
- Officers of the Trading Standards Team carry out inspections
and test purchases during the Bonfire Night
period.
Butane Gas
Gas lighter refills can only be sold to persons over the age of
18.
Spray Paints
- Can only be sold to persons over the age of 16.
- Statutory notice, "It is illegal to sell a spray paint device
to anyone under the age of 16", of set minimum size to be displayed
by retailers of spray paints
Petrol
- Persons under the age of 16 must not dispense petrol (use the
pumps) at a filling station
Other Age Restricted Products ? not enforced by Trading
Standards
Solvents
Offence to ?recklessly? sell substances knowing that they are
going to be inhaled for the purpose of causing intoxication.
Offensive Weapons
Age restrictions on the sale of knives or other sharp
objects.
Lottery
National Lottery tickets or scratchcards must not be sold to
anyone under the age of 16 years.
Enforcement
Enforcement of age restricted purchases requires several
different approaches. Traders must be educated as to their
responsibilities therefore advice and media campaigns must be
carried out.
Education
The potential underage purchasers must be made aware of the
dangers of certain products through liaison with schools and
educational establishments.
Test purchases
Enforcement of offending traders can be carried out (with the
help of the police) through test purchasing programmes and
surveillance operations. Trading Standards carry out frequent
test-purchasing exercises using child volunteers. Volunteers are
asked to attempt to purchase a variety of age-restricted goods
including fireworks, tobacco and videos. TS Central has some general trader advice
Preventing underage sales
If an age-restricted product is sold to an underage person, the
retailer and the salesperson can be guilty of a criminal
offence.
This applies even if the underage person claims they are buying the
item for an adult. If you are in doubt, and the person cannot
provide legitimate proof of their age, our advice is to refuse to
sell the goods to them.
If you sell age-restricted products you need to be fully aware of
the age limits.
All staff should be adequately trained and aware of your company?s
procedures and policies.
Age limits
A full list of age restricted goods and their corresponding age
limits can be downloaded from the downloads section at the top
left hand side of this page. If you are caught selling these
goods to an under-age person it may result in legal
proceedings.
Proof of age
The easiest way to stop selling to underage customers is to
always ask young customers for proof of age, even if they initially
appear old enough. Police and Trading Standards recommend you only
accept proof of age with both the date of birth and a photo, such
as: Citizencard, passport, photo driving licence or
other authorised proof of age cards such as Validate or Portman
Group Card.
There are fake proof of age cards about, so if you are unhappy with
any card for any reason, refuse the sale.
Items such as birth certificates and national insurance cards are
not recommended since they carry no photo so can be passed between
friends.
You legally have the right to refuse any customer either over or
under age if you are unhappy with the sale in any
way
Legislation
See entries for Fireworks & Explosives, Video Recordings
Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act
2004
Sale of Spray Paint (Display of Warning Statement) (Scotland)
Regulations 2004 Children and Young Persons (Scotland) Act 1937
Children and Young Persons (Protection from Tobacco) Act 1991
Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act 2002 Protection of Children
(Tobacco) Act 1986 Protection from Tobacco (Display of Warning
Statements) Regs 1992 Tobacco Products Labelling (Safety)
Regulations 1991
Cigarettes (Maximum Tar Yield) (Safety) Regulations 1992
Tobacco for Oral Use (Safety) Regulations 1992
Cigarette Lighter Refill (Safety) Regulations 1999
Tobacco Products (Manufacture, Presentation and Sale) (Safety)
Regulations 2002 Tobacco Advertising and Promotion (Sponsorship
Transitional Provisions) (Scotland) Regulations 2003
Tobacco Advertising and Promotion (Point of Sale) (Scotland)
Regulations 2004 Tobacco Advertising and Promotion (Specialist
Tobacconists) (Scotland) Regulations 2004
Tobacco Advertising and Promotion (Brandsharing) Regulations 2004
