00:00It's a new approach to tackling dodgy vape sales in Maidstone, with the Local Vape Action
00:06Partnership bringing together trading standards, the local council, Kent police and retailers
00:13to ensure those selling the nicotine products aren't putting public safety at risk.
00:20Something like this can really make a positive impact on helping people to know that they're
00:25using the right shops that have been approved and that are within the LVA scheme and that
00:30is something that will really help the public.
00:32There are more than 50 retailers across the borough of Maidstone the LVA are hoping to work
00:38with to reduce the number of underage vape sales as well as the proliferation of illegal
00:44vape products.
00:46The majority of businesses that we deal with, 80-90% are normally compliant.
00:51We're aware of some in the area that obviously aren't and we'll be focusing on those with
00:56our partners and if compliance activity doesn't work then the legislation allows us to take
01:01further activity and possibly even prosecution.
01:04The scheme has already been rolled out in Tunbridge Wells and Ashford with hopes that success here
01:10will be replicated nationally later in the year.
01:15Meanwhile Maidstone vape shops believe it will make it easier for those retailers who aren't
01:21flaunting the rules.
01:23We're a dedicated vape store so we operate slightly different to maybe some other stores
01:27that are out there.
01:28I believe that a good part of the problem is coming from stores which maybe sell vaping
01:33products on the sidelines so that maybe they're not as educated in the sector so that's where
01:37obviously this group will hopefully come into its own and ensure that we can spread the education.
01:41It's early days here in the county town but with retailers already coming on board there's
01:47hope that illegal sales will go up in smoke.
01:51Oli Leda in Maidstone.
01:54And Oli joins me now to tell us more.
01:56So Oli why was this implemented in Maidstone?
01:59Well several reasons.
02:01For a start Maidstone Borough Council wanted to work with Kent Trading Standards and other
02:07partners on this so it is that thing where if you have an authority with protection officers
02:13out and about that wants to tackle these issues in their town you're going to be more likely
02:18to have a rollout in that area.
02:21But it is also because there is local demand.
02:24You walk down Maidstone High Street you do see lots of vape shops, retailers selling vapes
02:30and based on consumer research done by the Local Vape Action Project they surveyed around
02:37200 people and looking at the data 69% of people said they were aware of illegal vape sales in
02:48the town either from reading the news or hearing about it or even seeing it and 23% of people
02:54say they have actually seen or strongly suspect illegal vape sales in Maidstone.
03:00And talking to Maidstone Borough Council's protection officers, talking to the people
03:06behind the scenes, they say that there's a wider problem here around safety in the town.
03:12What's worrying for us is that young people are often starting with vapes rather than coming
03:17to vapes from tobacco which was the prescribed brews if you like.
03:20So now we're seeing a situation where young people are experiencing vapes because they're
03:25cool or because that's what their friends are doing so we're seeing uptake in that regard
03:30and when shops refuse to sell or when they gather around stores that do sell a lot then we get
03:37the associated and social behaviour and the challenges for the businesses themselves.
03:41It's just not helping for the borough as a whole.
03:46And this has also been taking place in Ashford as well and this isn't the first local vape action
03:52that's happened in Kent. How do they actually work in practice?
03:56So in Tunbridge Wells and Ashford it's rolled out in 2024 and 2024 in Tunbridge Wells later in Ashford
04:01last year and there are several things they do. It's not just about enforcements and crackdowns,
04:07it's about working with retailers, providing them information about how to source products correctly
04:14so they don't end up accidentally selling something that doesn't meet legal regulations.
04:18But there is also that idea of making sure you're not selling to under 25s.
04:26They do do test purchasing for example. They go and test to see if Challenge 25 is being implemented.
04:33There's a wide variety of things. There's a mixture of almost sticks and carrots as it were
04:39to encourage people to sell the right products and maintain the rules.
04:44All right, thank you so much Oli.
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