The sale of electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) to under 18s is now illegal.

From 1 October retailers cannot sell e-cigs or liquids to anyone under the age of 18.

The Nicotine Inhaling Products (Age of Sale and Proxy Purchasing) Regulations 2015 will also render it illegal for adults to proxy purchase e-cigs and tobacco products such as cigarettes, roll your own tobacco and cigarette papers for under 18s.

The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) supports the move.

Responding to the government’s original consultation, ACS chief executive James Lowman said the measures would provide retailers with greater clarity on who they could and could not sell to.

“E-cigs are a growing product category in convenience stores. Many of our members already implement a voluntary age restriction for e-cigs, but this proposed age restriction will provide many responsible retailers with the additional support of the law behind them,” he said.