NEYDTSTOCK / SHUTTERSTOCK News 39% of NIP sales illegal, rapid review finds More than a third of test purchases of nicotine inhaling products (NIPs) made by trading standards in England were illegal, according to the rst rapid review of the market. The review is the rst since the introduction of the Nicotine Inhaling Products (Age of Sale & Proxy Purchasing) Regulations 2015, which came into force from 1 October 2015. The regulations prohibit sales to under-18s, except under certain circumstances. A total of 634 compliance tests were conducted between January and March 2016. They were carried out by trading standards services, supported by the Department of Health and managed by CTSI. According to the report, compliance with the age-of-sale aspect of these regulations was found to be disappointingly low, with illegal sales made on 246 occasions giving an overall non-compliance rate of 39 per cent. Businesses tested ranged from independent pharmacies, specialist e-cigarette suppliers, discount stores and markets. Leon Livermore, CTSI chief executive, said: More than 2.5 million adults use electronic cigarettes and evidence suggests the products are now the most popular quitting aid for smokers in England. Although regular use among children is relatively rare, childrens awareness of, and experimentation with, electronic cigarettes is increasing. Trading standards teams play a front-line role in preventing children from obtaining e-cigarettes and nicotine rells. They provide guidance to help retailers comply with the law, but will not hesitate to take enforcement action where it is appropriate to do so. A variety of products from e-liquids and disposable e-cigarettes to rechargeable products were purchased, with prices ranging from 1 to 20. The most frequently purchased products were e-liquids. Where an illegal sale was made, further advice and guidance will be given to help the business achieve compliance. Get plugged in Charity Electrical Safety First has produced a simple tool to help trading standards and others identify potentially dangerous or counterfeit items. Its credit card-sized plastic Plug Checker allows users to undertake three simple checks relating to the placement, shape and length of a plugs pins. If the plug fails on any of these tests, the charity recommends that the appliance should not be used, as it wont meet the safety requirements of BS 1363. Common products that can carry substandard plugs include chargers, travel adapters, hair straighteners, fans, kitchen appliances and power tools. A defective plug can often indicate that a product itself is fake or sub-standard. The tool has proved to be so successful that it has now been distributed to every trading standards office and fire and rescue service centre in the UK. GOODLUZ / SHUTTERSTOCK Warning over criminals posing as officials During Scams Awareness Month, Buckinghamshire and Surrey Trading Standards successfully prosecuted a man, posing as a trading standards ofcer, who scammed 900,000 out of an elderly couple. The pensioners, who had already been eeced of 300,000 by cowboy roofers, believed their luck had changed when the bogus ofcial came calling. However, the crook thought to be part of the same gang tricked them out of a further 600,000 in up-front fees with promises to recover the money. Gary Andrew Booker, 55, of Surrey, was jailed for three-and-a-half years at Aylesbury Crown Court in July, for his part in the crime. Trading standards services across the country took part in Scams Awareness Month throughout July. Other recent cases of scams carried out by bogus ofcials include: an 83-year-old woman who was taken for 30,000 by fake police ofcers; a woman who lost 170,000 to conmen posing as trading standards ofcers; and a number of elderly people who were caught out by crooks pretending to be NHS workers. Citizens Advice, Citizens Advice Scotland and CTSI, the joint organisers of Scams Awareness Month, are citing such cases as a warning to others. Leon Livermore, chief executive of CTSI, said: All too often criminals pose as charity workers, trading standards ofcers, government ofcials and even the police, to gain peoples trust. But if a genuine person comes to your door, they will be only too happy to wait while you check their identication, or if you tell them to come back another time because you are unsure. The month-long campaign urged people to follow a simple three-step rule to guard themselves against scams get advice, report it, and tell others about it. Millions of miles knocked off cars in clocking surge Motorists are at a greater risk of buying dangerous used cars with false mileage after a surge in clocking, which has seen rogue car dealers knock millions of miles off vehicles, councils warn. Latest industry figures show clocking by which mileage is reduced to increase a vehicles resale value increased by 10 per cent from March 2015 to October 2015. As well as defrauding people through higher prices, the crime could hide serious mechanical problems on vehicles and lead to expensive repair bills. The Local Government Association (LGA), which represents more than 370 councils in England and Wales, wants a proposed EU ban on companies offering mileage correction services to be retained under UK law. It also wants its introduction to be brought forward from the current planned date of May 2018. A current legal loophole means that knowingly selling a clocked car without disclosing it is fraud, but it is not illegal to alter an odometer. The LGA also wants mileagecorrection devices widely available online for about 120 to be banned, to help reduce the incidence of clocking.