Other age restricted products
Lottery tickets and scratch cards
The trader or anyone who is employed by the trader should not sell lottery tickets or scratch cards to anyone under the age of 16.
The maximum fine for selling lottery tickets or scratch cards to any person underage is £5000. It is also likely that the National Lottery organisation will remove the terminal from the shop.
DVDs, videos and computer games
It is an offence to supply videos to children and young persons below the age at which they have been classified. The classifications are: 12, 15, 18.
The maximum for selling a video product to a person under its age classification is £5000 and / or six months imprisonment.
By law almost all videos have to be classified by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) before they can be made available to the public.
The BBFC is the body appointed by Government to fulfil this task. It is a serious criminal offence to supply a video which should have been classified and which has not been.
Information for parents
Video classifications are given to enable you to make an informed choice as to what you allow your child to watch.
Video titles classified 12, 15 and 18 are considered unsuitable for children or young teenagers below the specified ages.
Solvents and butane gas lighter refills
You must not supply to persons under the age of 18 substances which you believe may be inhaled for the purposes of intoxication. Products include glue and aerosols. It is illegal to supply any gas lighter refill canister containing butane to a person under the age of 18.
The maximum fine for illegal solvents and lighter fuel refills is £5000 and / or six months imprisonment.
Spray paints
It is illegal to sell aerosol spray paints to anyone under the age of 16. The proprietor of the business, as well as the actual seller, may be prosecuted if a sale to an under-age person is made. The penalty for this offence carries a maximum fine of £2,500. However, it is a defence to show that you took all reasonable steps to determine the purchaser's age, that you reasonably believed the purchaser was over the age of sixteen and that you took all reasonable steps to avoid committing the offence.
Aerosol spray paint is often used in acts of graffiti vandalism. Graffiti often creates a run down atmosphere in a community that can lead to more crime being committed. By banning the sale of spray paint to under 16s, the Government hopes that the incidence of graffiti vandalism will be reduced.
How to report underage sales
If you suspect someone is making underage sales, report it online: