Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will include enforcement measures in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill to prevent the sale of tobacco products on the internet to those under age.

Selling tobacco to someone underage, whether in person or online, is a serious criminal offence which carries a fine of up to £2,500 on conviction in a magistrates’ court. It is the responsibility of all retailers including those online to ensure their customers are over the age of sale. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill, introduced to Parliament on 5 November 2024, is the biggest public health intervention in a generation, and takes significant action to strengthen enforcement to ensure that current and new sales regulations are successfully implemented.

The Bill introduces a new £200 fixed penalty notice in England and Wales, which will enable Trading Standards Officers to act ‘on the spot’ to clamp down on rogue retailers selling tobacco, vapes or nicotine products to people underage, whether in-person or online. The Bill also provides powers in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland to introduce a licensing scheme for the retail sale of these products. Once the scheme is introduced, it will be a criminal offence to sell these products, either in person or online, without a licence. Licensing offences will carry significant financial penalties, and those who commit sales offences could face licence revocation, enabling Trading Standards to further clamp down on rogue retailers. The details of the licensing scheme including licence conditions will be subject to consultation ahead of introduction.

Alongside the Bill, the Government is exploring how we can further tackle online underage sales. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is creating a framework of standards and governance, namely the UK digital identity and attributes trust framework, underpinned by legislation, to enable the widespread use of trusted digital identity services. This framework provides a potential opportunity for companies providing age verification services to be certified, to prove they are delivering age assurance solutions that meet Government standards.