In the UK, it is illegal to sell tobacco, nicotine vapes, or nicotine related products to anyone under the age of 18. Retailers must check ID for anyone appearing under 25, and it is illegal for adults to purchase these products for minors. This applies to online stores as well.

Minimum Age: The legal age to purchase cigarettes, tobacco, e-cigarettes, e-liquids or any other nicotine product is 18.

Sales Restrictions: It is illegal for retailers to sell these products to anyone under 18, with penalties for non-compliance.

Proxy Sales: It is an offence for adults to buy tobacco or nicotine products for someone under 18.

Proof of Age: Retailers must operate an age verification policy, requiring proof of age for anyone appearing under 25.

Online Sales: Age restrictions apply equally to online retailers, which must have systems to prevent sales to under-18s.

Why does SigmaNRG™ need to verify your age?

Because we are an online retailer - it's the law and we have a duty of care to comply! 

As such, we must ensure that all customers are age checked. For traditional retailers with physical shops this is easy to handle as the staff can apply the same Challenge 25 procedures that everybody is used to with tobacco, nicotine and alcohol, but as an online retailer and international brand we are not able to see your face so we have to conduct a digital age verification on every new customer. For this reason, we partner with AgeChecked.

Staying Compliant With AgeChecked - Our Online Age Verification Technology Partner:

Effective verification is vital to protect businesses from underage, fraudulent or prohibited customers. AgeChecked works collaboratively with us to maintain a compliant online verification solution that provides a seamless experience for all our customers.

Age Verification with AgeChecked - How does it work?

AgeChecked is able to verify against a number of data sources to deliver a high level of assurance that our customer is who they say they are and prove they are over the required legal age for any of our age-restricted products to meet the strict regulatory requirements of the UK. Depending on the information you provide, AgeChecked can perform a simple age verification to confirm you are over the legal age or a full identity check and ID scanning should it be required for any reason. We provide a seamless solution for our customers to ensure that they are able to complete their order swiftly. All our verification methods offer a simple and easy process to provide a smooth user experience.

The information must be entered correctly as it would appear on your driver’s license, electoral roll or a UK credit card. With this information we can verify your age and proceed with your order. Since this is simply an ID check and not a credit check, your credit score will not be affected in any way.

What AgeChecked do with the data

IMPORTANT: SigmaNRG™ do not retain your age verification data

We understand the importance of data protection, which is why AgeChecked ensures all customers' identity is kept anonymous via their tokenised solution.  No personal data is kept on AgeChecked’s system.  As soon as the age of the customer is confirmed, AgeChecked wipes the information. With AgeChecked, our customers verify once and they’re set for life. No repeat checks, just seamless shopping every visit, unless of course there are changes in your personal details, in which case AgeChecked may require you to verify your age once again.

What Happens If My Age Can't Be Verified Automatically?

Due to the strict laws in the UK, we can only permit you to verify your identity through our systems twice. If you fail on the second attempt then it will not be possible to proceed with your purchase. You will not be charged for your purchase and no data will be stored within the SigmaNRG™ website or servers, but will be retained by AgeChecked.

Why is Age Verification Important?

SigmaNRG™ Premium Nicotine Strips are not intended for non-nicotine users or children. We do not want people who don't already use nicotine to start using nicotine - that's not why we exist. SigmaNRG™ Premium Nicotine Strips are intended solely for adults looking to switch away from combustible tobacco, vapes, SNUS and nicotine pouches, to a hugely reduced risk alternative.

Not so long ago in the USA, certain brands marketed their products to children. It triggered a large youth uptake which was so concerning that many states have imposed flavour bans and online sales bans. This led to millions of adults not having access to these much safer alternatives, and we do not want to see this repeated in the UK because we believe our product can help those looking for an effective smoking cessation product and/or an alternative to smoking or vaping.

Does Age Verification Cost Me Anything?

No, age verification with AgeChecked does not cost our customers anything - we have you covered! This is solely our responsibility and duty of care as an online retailer and international brand. In the vast majority of cases age verification by AgeChecked will occur in the background and require little to no input from our customers.