Intoxicating substances
What does the law say about the sale of intoxicating substances to young people?
It is an offence for anyone to supply or offer to supply an intoxicating substance to a person they know or have reasonable cause to believe is under the age of 18, if they know, or have reasonable cause to believe that the substance is likely to be inhaled by the person under 18 for the purpose of intoxication.
It is also an offence to supply or offer to supply such a product to a person who is acting on behalf of a person under the age of 18, where the trader knows or has reasonable cause to believe that the purchaser is so acting.
What type of products should I be aware of?
Anything that can be inhaled to cause intoxication, the most common examples being:
- glue (containing contact adhesives)
- aerosols (for example paints, air freshener, deodorant, hair spray, pain relief spray)
- domestic cleaning fluids
- dry cleaning fluids
- office correction fluids and thinners
- paint stripper
- paint thinners
- nail polish remover
- anti freeze
See also the separate advice sheet on Cigarette lighter refills
Should I display any notices for customers?
There is no legal requirement to display a warning notice, however, you may want to consider displaying them conspicuously as part of your system for avoiding illegal sales. A suitable form of wording might be:
What are the penalties for breaking the law?
If an illegal sale is made, you could be prosecuted and face a fine of up to £5000, or a prison term of up to 6 months, or both.
What should I do now?
You should set up a system to ensure that you have done all that is reasonable to prevent you or a member of your staff selling intoxicating substances to young people. You should now read the Preventing underage sales section of this pack for practical guidance on how best to do this.
If you are unsure how old a person is, ask for proof of age. If any doubt remains, always refuse the sale.