Policy to ban sale of e-cigarettes to under 18s

The Government has agreed a policy to ban the sale of e-cigarettes to children under 18 years of age and the use of tobacco vending machines around the country.

Ministers agreed the policy with a view to introducing legislation during the lifetime of this Government. Retailers will also be required for the first time to have and pay for a licence to sell related products, the Cabinet agreed yesterday.

At present, there are no regulations governing e-cigarettes and there has been limited research about their effect on people’s health. A Government spokesman said that there would be further discussions before the policy was signed off on.