Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at on 26 October 2023.
Jenny Gilruth
Scottish National Party
The enforcement of the legislation on the sale and purchase of those products is carried out by local councils as part of the enhanced tobacco sales enforcement programme, which is overseen by the Society of Chief Officers of Trading Standards in Scotland and funded by the Scottish Government.
Last year, we wrote to all retailers who sell nicotine vapour products to remind them of their responsibilities to comply with legislation on the sale of those products—the member made an important point about the targeting of young people in that space. More broadly, we encourage anyone who has information about suppliers who might be providing vapes to underage young people to contact trading standards.
There is, however, a challenge in relation to some of the legislation. We are keen to work across the UK to take a four-nations approach to tackling the issue more broadly. As I alluded to in my response to Maurice Golden, there is a separation between the educational responsibilities and those of the health directorate. I will continue to work with my colleagues in the health directorate to ensure that the Government takes a consistent approach to dealing with the issue.