Seven out of nine Nottingham businesses tested in an underage vape purchase operation sold nicotine inhaling products to children, according to Nottingham City Council Trading Standards and Nottinghamshire Police.
The checks used supervised underage volunteers at premises suspected of selling vapes or similar nicotine products to minors. In seven cases, the volunteers were able to buy the products without being asked for proof of age.
The failure rate has prompted further investigations and raised fresh concern about how easily children in Nottingham can access nicotine products that retailers are legally required to keep away from under-18s.
Seven failures in nine test purchases
The operation focused on retailers suspected of breaking age-of-sale rules for nicotine inhaling products, including vapes. Officers said the visits were part of wider partnership work linked to Nottinghamshire Police’s Operation Reclaim, which targets criminality and community safety issues in and around the city.
Trading Standards teams use test purchase operations to check whether retailers are applying age controls in real conditions. In this case, the result was stark: most of the premises tested failed to challenge the young volunteers before completing a sale.
The businesses that failed have not been named while further enquiries continue. They may face formal action, including prosecution and additional compliance checks.
The Nottingham findings sit alongside broader concerns about underage vape access in other areas, including similar vape sales investigations involving local trading standards teams.
Retailers must apply Challenge 25
Under the Nicotine Inhaling Products (Age of Sale and Proxy Purchasing) Regulations 2015, it is illegal to sell nicotine inhaling products to anyone under 18.
Retailers are expected to operate Challenge 25 policies. That means staff should ask for valid identification from anyone who appears to be under 25 before selling restricted products.
The rules apply to shops selling nicotine inhaling products as well as to staff who complete the transaction at the till. Businesses are also expected to keep refusals registers, maintain training records and ensure employees understand when a sale must be refused.
For parents and carers, the issue is not only whether children are buying vapes directly. Weak age checks can make nicotine products easier to obtain through repeat purchases, peer sharing and shops where young people know they are unlikely to be challenged.
Council and police warn of enforcement action
Councillor Matt Shannon, Executive Member for Community Protection, Neighbourhoods and Equalities at Nottingham City Council, said it was “reprehensible” that businesses were willing to sell nicotine products to children.
He said the high failure rate was “deeply alarming” and showed that too many retailers were failing in their legal responsibilities.
“We will continue to work closely with Nottinghamshire Police to clamp down on those who flout the law, and we will make the outcome of enforcement action public once any court proceedings have concluded,” he said.
Councillor Shannon added that nicotine products are harmful and highly addictive, particularly for children and young people. He warned retailers that anyone selling such products must do so responsibly and in full compliance with the law.
Chief Inspector Kylie Davies said businesses that failed to act responsibly would be dealt with accordingly. She said four vape shops in and around Nottingham city centre had already been closed as part of Operation Reclaim, which is tackling criminality including business crime.
Further checks may follow
The seven businesses that failed the operation are now subject to further investigation. Possible next steps include prosecution, further test purchases and compliance visits.
Nottingham City Council is also reminding all retailers selling nicotine inhaling products to check staff training, apply Challenge 25 consistently and maintain accurate refusals registers.
Businesses that need a refusals register can contact Nottingham City Council Trading Standards on 0115 844 5018.
Source: Nottingham City Council
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This report is based on the published Nottingham City Council account of the Trading Standards and police test purchase operation.
- Checked the reported test purchase figures: seven failures from nine Nottingham premises.
- Matched the legal context to the named Nicotine Inhaling Products regulations and Challeng...
- Separated confirmed enforcement action from possible next steps, including prosecution and...
- Identified Nottingham as the factual geographic scope rather than using the source body as...
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- Nottingham City Council
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- Nottingham
- Updated
- 2026-06-05 11:41
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