Barking and Dagenham Council Trading Standards Officers carried out an operation on Saturday 25 June where an individual under 18-years of age tried to purchase cigarettes from 23 different businesses. All 23 of these businesses refused to sell cigarettes to the young person.



It’s illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to purchase any type of cigarettes in England, and local businesses in Barking and Dagenham have proved they’re following the rules by not selling to the youngster.



Councillor Syed Ghani, Cabinet Member for Enforcement and Community Safety said: “I am really pleased to see that none of the businesses sold cigarettes to the young person in this operation.



“Local businesses have a responsibility to follow the rules in place and help us look after our young people, so I’m delighted that they are. This shows that the work our officers have done with local businesses on strictly following the rules is working.”



The council use these operations to show that they’re carrying out proactive and rigorous monitoring as well as working and educating businesses, which has a positive impact.