Teen team targets underage cigarette sales

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In just two weeks, Renfrewshire Council's teenage team of undercover operatives have smoked out four local retailers who are willing to break the law by selling cigarettes to under 18s.

The names of the retailers will now be passed to the Procurator Fiscal by the council's trading standards team.

Despite the threat of a maximum £2,500 fine, more than one in three of the retailers approached sold cigarettes to obviously underage customers without challenging them.

The shocking statistics are to be reported to Renfrewshire councillors at a meeting of the environment and infrastructure policy board on Wednesday 23 April.

Councillor Marie McGurk, convener of the environment and infrastructure policy board, said: "Selling cigarettes to children shortens their lives. A child who starts smoking at 14 years old or younger is five times more likely to die of lung cancer than someone who starts smoking at the age of 24."

“In Scotland, nearly one in five 15 year old girls and one in eight 15 year old boys are regular smokers. Alarmingly, over 80% of them buy their cigarettes from their local shops. Retailers have to take their responsibilities seriously or face the consequences."

The law on cigarette sales changed on 1 October 2007 when the minimum age for buying tobacco products was raised from 16 years old to 18 years old.

Renfrewshire Council launched its crackdown on underage cigarette sales in November 2007. This resulted in the prosecution of Mudasar Jawad of Barterholm Stores, Barterholm Road, Paisley who was found guilty and fined £240.

The council plans to broaden its testing programme to cover other age-restricted products like spray paints, solvents and DVDs.

Press release: Friday 18 April 2008