One in five shops sell cigarettes to children, study finds

Small shops and petrol stations were more likely to sell to under 18s Credit: PA

Nearly one in five shops illegally sold cigarettes to children in a study conducted by trading standards.

Teenagers aged between 14 and 17, supervised by trading standards officers, attempted to buy cigarettes in 352 test purchases in England.

The investigation found that smaller grocery stores, newsagents and petrol stations were most likely to sell tobacco products to underage buyers.

63 illegal sales were made during the probe, which was carried out between December 2014 and March this year.

London had the highest proportion of underage tobacco sales, with 24% of shops selling to the teenagers.

Leon Livermore, chief executive of the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) said: "Trading standards teams play a front line role in preventing children from obtaining cigarettes and developing a habit that is detrimental to their health and a costly burden to the health service.

"Local trading standards services can and often do prosecute offending retailers but they also issue warnings and provide guidance to retailers, as part of the national drive to stamp out smoking."

The legal minimum age for buying tobacco was raised from 16 to 18 in 2007.

New rules due to come into force in October will also make it illegal for retailers to sell electronic cigarettes to those aged under 18, while adults will be banned from buying tobacco products for children.