Under Age Sales

There are strict laws prohibiting the sale of certain items such as alcohol, tobacco and fireworks to young people as they are considered to present real risks to their health or welfare.

It is illegal for age restricted goods to be sold to those who are below the specified age limit. A trader can be prosecuted and may lose their livelihood for making an illegal sale.

Why do I need to be concerned?

Ignoring the risks of using restricted products under age can lead to :

• Long term health problems from tobacco and solvent abuse
• Serious injury or death from fireworks and solvents
• Being drawn into criminal or anti-social behaviour from alcohol, solvent abuse and gambling
• Educational under-achievement from alcohol and solvent abuse

We take the issue of sales of age restricted products to children very seriously. Not only is their health affected but the quality of life of the community at large is also damaged. Youth disorder, often alcohol related, is a community priority and we are determined to do our utmost to stamp out illegal sales and reduce youth disorder.

Are you aware of how many goods cannot be sold to children? Some of them are detailed below with the age restriction which applies.

We regularly carry out operations with the police to ensure young people are not being sold age restricted products.

Precautions

Traders must take all reasonable precautions to ensure that neither you nor your staff sell these age-restricted goods to anyone under the specified age. If in doubt, and the person cannot provide a legitimate proof of their age, our advice is to refuse to sell the goods to them.

If it is suspected that someone over the legally required age is purchasing the goods on behalf of someone who is underage, you should consider whether it is appropriate to sell the goods to them. Remember that you do not have to sell to a customer if you do not wish to do so.