A Consultation on Electronic Cigarettes and Strengthening Tobacco Control in Scotland

PURPOSE

Our aim is to continue to build on a robust statutory and policy framework, which supports our public health policy objectives on tobacco control. These are to reduce the harm caused by tobacco through:

• preventing the take-up of smoking, particularly amongst young people
• protecting adults and children from exposure to second-hand smoke
• supporting those who do smoke to quit and not relapse back to smoking

PROPOSALS AND QUESTIONS

We are seeking the views of interested people, businesses and organisations on a range of options as follows.

Electronic Cigarettes (e-cigarettes)

1. Designate e-cigarettes as an age-restricted product for purchase by adults aged 18 and over

2. Create an offence to supply an e-cigarette to a young person under age 18 ('proxy purchase')

3. Advertising and promotion of e-cigarettes

4. Establish a statutory requirement for e-cigarette retailers to register on the Scottish Tobacco Retailers Register

Tobacco Control

5. Ban smoking in cars in the presence of children under the age 18

6. Smoke-free NHS grounds

7. Smoke-free children and family areas

Tobacco Control and E-cigarettes

8. Create a mandatory age verification policy for tobacco products and e-cigarettes akin to alcohol legislation

9. Prohibit young people under the age of 18 from selling tobacco products and e-cigarettes unauthorised

The use and availability of e-cigarettes continues to be a rapidly developing area. We are therefore also inviting evidence and views on the following open question to inform future policy development.

10. Should there be restrictions on where e-cigarettes may be used?