A third of tobacconists still sell tobacco to minors

Despite improvements since 2021, the sale of tobacco and vaping products to minors remains widespread in France, according to the latest survey.[1] «A mystery shopper survey conducted by the Audirep Institute for the National Committee Against Smoking (CNCT) revealed that 31% of tobacconists sell tobacco to minors and 34% of vape shops sell e-liquid. Identity checks are rarely carried out, and legally required signage is often absent or non-compliant. The CNCT is calling on public authorities to strengthen penalties and consider raising the legal age for selling tobacco to 21.

Carried out with the support of the Addiction Prevention Fund, the Audirep survey is based on 1,000 mystery visits conducted in pairs: a 17-year-old teenager tried to buy a tobacco or vaping product, while an observing adult checked for the possible request for identification, the presence of mandatory signage and the refusal or not to sell.

A third of retail outlets are in violation despite improvement

The survey results show that a third of retail outlets – tobacconists and vape shops combined – are still not complying with the law. Specifically, 31% of tobacconists still sell tobacco products to minors, and 32% sell e-liquid to minors. Furthermore, 81% of tobacconists do not ask for identification when a 17-year-old customer tries to buy a tobacco product.

In the vaping sector, the situation is just as worrying: 34 of the specialist retailers agreed to sell a product to a minor, and in 77 of the cases, no age verification was carried out.

While these figures represent a notable improvement compared to 2021, when 64% of tobacco retailers agreed to sell to minors, they remain incompatible with an effective public health objective. To be truly protective, law enforcement should achieve a compliance rate of over 90%, the level observed in countries where regulations are strictly enforced.

Regional disparities are also significant: offenses are more frequent in Île-de-France, the Grand Est region, and in cities with more than 15,000 inhabitants, where the anonymity of transactions facilitates less oversight. These findings confirm the continued normalization of access to nicotine products, including in shops that present themselves as tobacco alternatives.

Signage and control: a flawed application

The requirement to display a clearly visible sign specifically prohibiting the sale of tobacco or vaping products to minors is widely ignored: 45% of tobacconists and 49% of specialized stores either have no signage or display signage that does not comply with the ministerial decree. This lack of information weakens the prevention efforts and contributes to circumventing the law.

A persistent impunity that undermines the goal of a tobacco-free generation

For the CNCT (National Committee Against Tobacco), these shortcomings reflect a persistent sense of impunity within a network that nonetheless benefits from public funding intended to support its diversification away from tobacco. Twenty years after the ban on selling tobacco to minors, the application of the law remains highly uneven: this situation undermines public health efforts aimed at delaying initiation and building a tobacco-free generation.

Strict adherence to the ban on sales to minors is indeed an essential condition for achieving the objectives of the National Tobacco Control Programme 2023-2027 and bringing about a tobacco-free generation by 2032. France now has all the necessary tools to make this ban fully effective and guarantee the protection of young people against nicotine addiction, the CNCT reminds us.

To improve the situation, the CNCT makes several recommendations:

• Strengthen controls in tobacco shops and vaping stores; ;
• Apply immediate disciplinary sanctions, including license suspension in case of repeat offences; ;
• Publish a national circular from the Ministry of Justice to reiterate the stakes of this public policy adopted at the national level and to lead the public prosecutors to request exemplary sanctions;
• Establish a licensing system for vaping outlets with strict obligations; ;
• Consider raising the legal selling age to 21, in order to delay initiation and limit early addiction.

These measures would strengthen compliance with the law and contribute to achieving the goal of a tobacco-free generation.

©Generation Without Tobacco

AE

[1] Press release, One in three tobacconists still agrees to sell to minors without any identity checks., CNCT, published on November 12, 2025, accessed on the same day