The Department of Health (DH) has invited pharmacists’ views on plans to ban the sale of e-cigarettes to under 18s.

The regulations proposed in a consultation would make it an offence to sell unlicensed nicotine-inhaling products, including e-cigarettes and their refills, to children in England and Wales. This would protect children from both the risk of nicotine addiction and from a potential “gateway” effect of introducing them to smoking tobacco, the DH said.

A pharmacy caught selling these products to under-18s would face a fine of up to £2,500, while repeated sales would lead to a ban from selling nicotine-inhaling products for up to a year, the DH said.

The consultation launched on December 17 and the DH told C+D last week (January 13) that it would “welcome responses from pharmacists” to its proposals.

In its consultation document, the DH said the government was concerned about “increased awareness and use of the products by children”. Many e-cigarette flavours, including cherry cola, bubble gum and gummy bear, could appeal to children and there was also a risk that e-cigarette advertising could “resonate with young people”, it said.

Since nicotine could alter brain development and it was unclear what effect e-cigarettes had on developing lungs, it was right to restrict their sale to adults, the DH said. It also proposed that it should be an offence to buy an e-cigarette on behalf of anyone under the age of 18.

"Clarity and consistency"

A minimum age of sale, which the DH expects to be approved by parliament this year, would also provide “clarity and consistency” for retailers selling e-cigarettes, the DH said.

The rules would not apply to nicotine-inhaling products that were licensed as medicines and sold by a pharmacist with a valid prescription, it said. Although no e-cigarettes fall into this category, a number of e-cigarette manufacturers have announced plans to submit their products for licensing by the MHRA.

Public health minister Jane Ellison said she “recognised the role that e-cigarettes can play in helping adults quit” but was keen to stop children becoming addicted to nicotine products. “There's a risk that e-cigarettes could be appealing to children as use and awareness of these products increases,” she added.

Respond to the consultation

Pharmacists have until January 28 to respond to the consultation document by completing an online form, emailing their response or sending their views by post.


A consultation by the Scottish Government on e-cigarettes, which included proposals to restrict sales to adults, closed on Januray 2.

Last year, pharmacy bodies were "shocked" by a report that showed that some pharmacies were selling e-cigarettes to young people. A week after the story broke, a C+D poll suggested a quarter of pharmacists thought under-18s should be able to purchase e-cigarettes.

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