{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/health-and-personal-social-services-northern-ireland-order-1978/article-3",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/health-and-personal-social-services-northern-ireland-order-1978/article-3.json",
  "legislation": "nisi/1978/1907",
  "legislation_title": "Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1978",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/health-and-personal-social-services-northern-ireland-order-1978",
  "path": "article/3",
  "kind": "article",
  "number": "3",
  "heading": "Prohibition on sale of tobacco, etc. to persons apparently under 18Sale of tobacco etc",
  "text": "(1) Subject to paragraph (2), a person who sells to a person. . . under the age of 18 any tobacco product, herbal smoking product or cigarette papers, whether for his own use or not, shall be guilty of an offence.\n(1A) It shall be a defence for a person charged with and offence under paragraph (1) to prove that he took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of the offence.\nPara.(2) rep. with saving by 1986 NI 24\n(3) A person guilty of an offence under paragraph (1) shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.\n(1) It is an offence to sell any of the following to a person born on or after 1 January 2009—\n(a) a tobacco product;\n(b) a herbal smoking product;\n(c) cigarette papers.\n(2) It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under this Article to prove—\n(a) that they took such steps as may be specified in regulations made by the Department to verify that the customer was born before 1 January 2009, or\n(b) that they otherwise took all reasonable steps to avoid the commission of the offence.\n(3) Regulations may not be made by the Department under paragraph (2)(a) unless a draft of the regulations has been laid before and approved by a resolution of the Assembly.\n(4) A person guilty of an offence under this Article is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.",
  "extent": "N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "Art. 3 substituted (29.4.2026 for specified purposes) by Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 (c. 18), ss. 72, 175(2)(3)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F2",
      "text": "1991 NI 25"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F3",
      "text": "Word in art. 3(1) substituted (1.9.2008) by Children and Young Persons (Sale of Tobacco etc.) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008 (S.R. 2008/306), regs. 1(3), 2(b)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F4",
      "text": "Words in art. 3(1) inserted (29.10.2026) by Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 (c. 18), s. 175(1), Sch. 14 para. 4"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F5",
      "text": "Words in art. 3(3) substituted (6.4.2016) by Tobacco Retailers Act (Northern Ireland) 2014 (c. 4), ss. 18(2), 25(2); S.R. 2016/101, art. 2(a), Sch. 1"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F6",
      "text": "Word in the heading of art. 3 substituted (1.9.2008) by Children and Young Persons (Sale of Tobacco etc.) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008 (S.R. 2008/306), regs. 1(2), 2(b)"
    },
    {
      "type": "C",
      "label": "C1",
      "text": "Art. 3(1): power to amend conferred (15.1.2007) by The Smoking (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/2957 (N.I. 20)), arts. 1(3)(h), 14(a) (with art. 16(1))"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisi/1978/1907/article/3",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-11-05T03:42:57.809351+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}