Sale of tobacco and tobacco products

The purpose of this guidance leaflet is to remind traders of the law regarding the sale of cigarettes and tobacco to children.

It is a criminal offence to sell cigarettes, tobacco, or cigarette papers to children under 18. The law still applies even if the child is buying the cigarettes or tobacco for an adult (e.g. a parent)
Contravention is punishable by a fine of up to £2500
It is a criminal offence to sell cigarettes to anyone except in their original packs of ten or more
Contravention is punishable by a fine of up to £1000
It is a criminal offence not to display a notice which states: "It is illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18
It must be prominently displayed and readily visible at the point of sale. The size of the notice and its lettering are laid down, it must be not less than 297mm by 420mm, with no letter less than 36mm high (as at 20/3/93)
Contravention is punishable by a fine of up to £1000

It is a criminal offence to allow a cigarette vending machine to be used by children under 18
Failure to follow the conditions of any court order regarding the use of removal of the machine is punishable by a fine of up to £2500
It is a criminal offence not to display a notice which states: "This machine is only for the use of people aged 18 or over"
The notice must be on the machine and be readily visible. The size of the notice and its lettering are laid down, it must be not less than 60mm by 100mm, with no letter less than 6mm (as at 20/2/93)
Contravention is punishable by a fine of up to £1000

Please note that this information is for guidance only and is not a full interpretation of the law which only a court of law can give.

This page was last updated on 4 October 2009