Setting the standard at Hounslow’s Tobacco Day of Action

Hounslow Council’s Trading Standards (TS) Team will lift the lid on the perils of illegal tobacco sales at a special Day of Action roadshow event.

On Thursday, 18 July, the TS team will join forces with the Council’s Public Health team to present a one-day event, focusing on all things tobacco and smoking-related. 

The event will take place between 10am and 3pm at Bell Square, Hounslow High Street, and will feature information and guidance on the work of the Trading Standards team and the negative impacts of smoking and using tobacco products on health.

Officers will meet with the public to discuss the dangers of illicit tobacco products and explain what steps the Council is taking to crack down on illegal tobacco sales. 

The Trading Standards Team works to enforce the laws around tobacco sales to ensure that all tobacco items for sale in the borough are legitimate. The team looks at issues such as ensuring tobacco products are not counterfeits, they have not been smuggled and duty has been paid on them. Officers also work to ensure that all tobacco, vape and shisha products comply with packaging and size requirements and that none of these are sold to people aged under 18.

Making a guest appearance at the event will be a sniffer dog from Wagtail UK, demonstrating how it can use its highly honed sense of smell to detect tobacco products as part of TS investigations.

Hounslow Council’s Public Health Outreach Team will explain the health impacts of smoking and offer support to people who want to quit. 

People who smoke increase their risk of developing a range of serious illnesses, including heart disease, cancer and stroke. 

Healthy Hounslow offers support programmes to anyone in our borough who wants to quit smoking.

The full list of activities on the day is:

• Hounslow Council’s Trading Standards Team
• The Health Outreach Team 
• Healthy Hounslow Smoking Cessation Service 
• The NHS Lung Check Team
• Hounslow Council’s Safer Communities Team
• London Fire Brigade
• The Wagtail sniffer dog
• Hounslow’s Young People’s Engagement Team (HYPE)

Mayor of Hounslow, Cllr Karen Smith will also be making an appearance on the day and residents visiting the event to engage with the team, could be in with a chance of winning a £50 Amazon voucher. 

Councillor Raghwinder Siddhu, Hounslow Council’s Cabinet Member for Public Safety, Regulatory Services and Enforcement, said:

“Hounslow Council and its partners are committed to protecting the residents of our borough from the dangers of illegal tobacco sales. This open day will give everyone an insight into how we are achieving this by shining a light on the great work carried out by our Trading Standards Team and others. 

“It will also be an opportunity for people to find out more about how smoking and using tobacco products can damage your health and what support is available for people who want to stop smoking. 

“I would urge everyone to come along on the day and find out more.”

For more information on Trading Standards in Hounslow, visit: hounslow.gov.uk/info/20070/business/1210/trading_standards