One in four shops sells vapes to underage teenagers in Lincolnshire

• Video report by Amelia Beckett

More than a quarter of shops sold vapes to underage teenagers in tests carried out by trading standards officers in Lincolnshire.

In the last year, data shared with ITV Calendar, shows that 27% of retailers failed test purchases carried out by Lincolnshire Trading Standards.

In contrast, in similar tests, less than 10% of underage customers were sold cigarettes or alcohol.

This issue has become such a problem, Trading Standards has shifted its entire underage strategy to tackle the problem.

Principal trading standards officer Daniel Brown said: "The amount of intelligence we were receiving about kids illegally buying these products was so great, all our operations were changed to primarily focus on test purchasing vapes in June 2022.

"These products are age-restricted for a reason. They contain nicotine and we don't want a generation of children hooked on nicotine.

"And an even bigger concern is if they get their hands on vapes that aren't even legal."

In the last year 9,455 have been seized across Lincolnshire, with some containing five times the legal limit of nicotine.

A recent NHS survey found almost one in 10 children aged between 11 and 15 use an electronic cigarette, up from just 3% in 2018.

One in five 15-year-olds said they vaped, with the sharpest rise among girls.

Lincolnshire Trading Standards has now started special workshops in schools across the county as part of its efforts to tackle the issue.

Robert Symons, assistant headteacher at the William Lovell Academy in Stickney, told ITV News the school was prompted to sign up after students were found selling vapes on campus.

My Symons said: "It is a social disease. We've had examples of students leaving classrooms to experiment with vapes, students that meet up to do this at school.

"Not only is this a danger to their health but it's also disrupting their education."

The issue has led Sleaford and North Hykeham MP Dr Caroline Johnson to call for a ban on disposable vapes.

"The number of children vaping is increasing exponentially - we are seeing huge numbers of particularly teenage girls taking up vaping and we don’t know what the long term effects are going to be," she said.

"We know it’s much better not to vape and we need to make sure we can do all we can to stop it."

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