Underage Sales Info
Trader's Guide
Consumer's Guide
Trader's Guide
If you sell...
- Alcohol
- Cigarettes (and tobacco products)
- Fireworks (including sparklers)
- Knives
- Lighter Refills
- Paints and Solvents
- Crossbows
- DVD’s/Videos
...you must be sure someone is 18
years old or older before selling to them.
- Lottery Tickets;
- Caps, cracker snaps, novelty matches, party
poppers, serpents and throwdowns.
- Liqueur chocolate
- Aerosol Paints
- Petroleum; and
- Poisons
...you must be sure someone is 16
years old or older before selling to them.
If you have any doubt about the age of
anyone wanting to buy any of these items, ask them for proof of
age.
If you sell an age restricted product to
someone under age then you could face a large fine or even a prison
sentence—at the very least you may receive a fixed penalty. This
applies to the business, but also to the person who makes the sale.
If you have an alcohol licence, you may end up losing it.
Think 21
Think 21 means that if you think someone looks
under 21 then ask for proof of age. Some retailers are now using
age 25 as a guide—anyone who looks 25 or under gets asked to prove
their age. This extra caution ensures that you don’t supply to
someone under 18 by mistake.
Proof of Age
Where you ask for proof of age, it is
important that you only accept legitimate identification.
Legitimate ID includes:
- a passport,
- driving licence, or
- PASS-approved identification card.
Proxy Sales
If you think that an adult is buying alcohol
or tobacco products for someone under 18, then refuse to sell to
them and contact the Trading Standards Service for advice. Anyone
who buys alcohol for a person under 18 may be committing an offence
by doing so.
Defences
If you do commit an offence by selling to
someone under-age, some legislation allows you to defend yourself
if you are able show that you took all reasonable precautions and
exercised all due diligence to avoid committing the offence.
When you refuse to sell because someone looks
under 21 (or 25) and can’t provide proof of their age, then make a
note of this in a Refusals Book. This record will show that
you have taken precautions against selling to those under 18 * and
help you satisfy a defence should you need to do so.
If you own the business and one of your staff
sells to someone under-age, then you could still commit an offence.
It is therefore important that you train your staff about under-age
selling, make sure they understand that training, and keep a record
of the training you have given them.
Age-restricted products - a consumer's guide
There are strict laws prohibiting the sale of
certain items e.g. 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 business or
individual seller can be fined or 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
Bedford Trading Standards 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.
We have adopted a proactive approach to reduce
illegal sales. Whilst maintaining a robust enforcement policy
against those traders who flout their responsibilities we also are
keen to work with traders who want to comply, for example by
visiting traders, providing them with advice and information and
organising trader seminars.
We also use intelligence gathered from the
local community and others to identify areas of the county where
illegal sales of age restricted products may be taking place and
sometimes individual businesses. These areas/businesses can them be
the subject of test purchase exercises using child volunteers.