| 
Advice for Parents
Every parent wants to protect their child from danger.
Below are a few of the
things which the government has decided must not be
sold to children under
a certain age.
Alcohol
Alcohol, when taken in excess can become addictive and
can be responsible for
a wide range of health problems. It can also lead to
behaviour problems which
are socially unacceptable. For their protection, children
under the age of 18
are
not permitted to purchase alcohol and it is an offence
to sell alcohol to anyone
under 18.
It is also an offence for anyone to buy alcohol on
behalf
of someone under 18,
which carries a maximum fine of £5000.
Trading Standards work closely with Northumbria Police
to deal with under-age alcohol sales.
Cigarettes
It has now been medically proven that cigarettes can
damage your health and as
any ex-smoker is well aware, they can be addictive,
making it very difficult to
stop. Because of the dangers to health and to protect
children for as long as
possible it is illegal to sell cigarettes to anyone
under the age of 18.
It is also
illegal to sell loose cigarettes to anyone regardless
of their age.
Cigarette Lighter Refills
Some young persons buy cigarette lighter refills and
sniff the contents to
intoxicate themselves. It is an offence for traders
to sell cigarette lighter refills
containing butane to anyone under the age of 18
where the shopkeeper may reasonably believe that the
product will be used for intoxication.
Fireworks
During the period around bonfire night, fireworks
are for sale at many local
shops. When used correctly they can be entertaining
and exciting, but in the
wrong hands they can be very dangerous as any hospital
emergency room can
testify. Currently, fireworks cannot legally be sold
to children under the age of 18.
As the most common accidents are burns from sparklers,
packets of
sparklers have to carry warnings that they are not suitable
for anyone under the
age of 5.
Trading Standards enforce the law relating to underage
sales and the safety of
the fireworks themselves. The storage and licensing
of fireworks are the
responsibility of the fire brigade.
Lottery Tickets and Scratchcards
It is illegal for a retailer to sell a lottery ticket
or scratch card to anyone under the
age of 16.
Any retailer who does sell to children under 16
also risks losing their
right to sell lottery tickets. This is enforced by
CAMELOT.
Videos, DVDs and Computer Games
Not all video format products are suitable for young
children to view. These products are therefore are classified
with age restrictions. These classifications are marked
on the
product and its packaging and parents need to be aware
of this when buying or renting them.
The age restriction classifications are 12,
15 and
18. It
is against the law for any shopkeeper to hire or sell
a video, DVD or Computer Game to anyone who is under
the age marked on it.
What we are doing about it
Trading Standards enforce the law relating to the sale
of many of the goods
which are age restricted. We are committing a significant
amount of time and effort to stamp out illegal sales
in the Borough which are detailed in our action
plan.
We have taken enforcement action, including prosecutions,
against a number of shops for selling to underage children.
You can help us protect your children by telling
us if you know of any shops selling illegally.
|
