OUR PLEDGE TO YOUTH ACCESS PREVENTION

As members of the Vapour Products Association of South Africa (VPASA), we have the responsibility to ensure that our products are not marketed or sold to anyone under the age of 18. Our VUSE products are specifically designed for adult smokers and nicotine users. Therefore, we take youth access to our products very seriously.

We are continually looking at new ways to ensure that our products are not marketed to or bought by anyone under 18 years. At Vusa, we refer to this as "Youth Access Prevention". Our latest YAP measures were implemented in November 2021, meaning that some customers will have experienced a change to the ways they interact with and buy Vuse products.

Below is an infographic that outlines the process our customers should expect to follow to verify their age and allow them to access our website and/or purchase their devices online:
(the below infographic exists on the SA YAP blog)

While we know this age verification process may be inconvenient, we hope you understand how important it is to ensure that youth remain protected. This age verification is central to our commitment to South Africa as a member of VPASA, and we want to assure you that any personal information that you share with us will remain strictly confidential, and won’t be used for any purpose other than to verify your age. We know that our customers understand the importance of these changes and appreciate the steps that we have taken to be the most responsible vaping brand we can be. We value your help in keeping the youth of South Africa safe.

For those of you who are interested, here is the pledge that we took together with the other members of VPASA:

• We believe that our products are only suitable for adult smokers who are looking for a less harmful alternative to traditional cigarettes.
• We commit to NOT sell to individuals who are under the age of 18.
• We commit to train our employees to ensure appropriate age verification at all points of sales.
• We commit to ensure that our courier partners do not deliver electronic nicotine and non-nicotine delivery systems (ENNDS) to under-age persons.
• We are in favour of regulations that prohibit the sale of ENNDS to anyone under the age of 18.
• We are in favour of regulations that will have tough penalties for those who do not adhere to this position of ‘no under-age sales.’
• We recognise as an industry the growth in social media platforms as the preferred means of communication with our consumers, and to this end, care and due diligence is observed to ensure we do not promote vaping and/or ENNDS to under-age persons. We use these platforms to support adult smokers who are looking for a less harmful alternative to smoking.
• From 23 March 2021, we as members of the Vapour Products Association of South Africa (VPASA) pledge to support the Youth Access Prevention (YAP) campaign by displaying this pledge, YAP stickers for all our consumers to see; posting on our social media platforms materials and content to this effect