The First Step in Vape Compliance: Age Verification Technologies Applied Worldwide
In recent years, with the rapid rise of new tobacco products like vapes, countries around the world have been continuously strengthening and improving the age restrictions for purchasing and consuming tobacco products. This is particularly true in many developed countries, where governments, in order to protect minors, have gradually raised the legal age for purchasing tobacco products and have increased the age verification requirements for both online and offline sales. Although the specific methods for age verification vary across countries, the overall aim is to prevent minors from accessing tobacco products, especially vapes, which have become increasingly popular. The following will explore the measures and technologies related to age verification in various countries, analyze their pros and cons, and discuss potential directions for future improvements.
1. Legal Age Requirements for Purchasing Tobacco Products
In many countries, strict legal regulations govern the minimum age for purchasing and consuming tobacco products. These regulations apply not only to traditional cigarettes but have also been extended to include new tobacco products like vapes and heated tobacco products. For example, in the United States, the federal government set the minimum legal age for purchasing tobacco products at 21 years, a policy that was established through legislation in 2019. Additionally, many states and local governments have their own supplementary regulations, with some regions raising the age limit to 22 years. In Europe, the minimum age for purchasing tobacco products is generally 18 years, but some countries, such as Finland, have raised it to 20 years.
2. Age Verification for Offline Sales
For brick-and-mortar retailers, ensuring that customers meet the legal age requirement for purchasing tobacco products is an important task during the sales process. Typically, store employees will ask customers to show identification when they are buying tobacco products to confirm their age. In many countries and regions, retailers are required to train their staff to understand and comply with age verification regulations. Through this direct, face-to-face verification, merchants can effectively prevent minors from purchasing tobacco products. However, this method has its limitations. For instance, some minors may use fake IDs or borrow an adult’s ID to make a purchase, and during busy times, it may be difficult for merchants to quickly identify counterfeit documents.
3. Age Verification for Online Sales
With the rise of e-commerce, the online sale of tobacco products, especially vapes, has become increasingly common. Unlike traditional physical stores, online shops cannot directly verify a customer's age face-to-face, so they need to rely on other methods for age verification. To address this challenge, many countries and regions have developed different age verification methods for e-commerce platforms.
Age Confirmation Pop-ups
One of the most common methods is to display a pop-up window when customers enter an online tobacco shop, asking them to confirm that they are of legal age to purchase tobacco products. This method is simple and quick but has low reliability, as it completely depends on the customer's honesty. Without further verification, minors can easily bypass this step by lying about their age. As a result, many platforms are looking for more rigorous verification methods.
Uploading ID Photos
To improve the reliability of age verification, some online stores require customers to upload a photo of an identification document (e.g., passport, driver's license, or other government-issued IDs) during account registration to prove their age. This method is relatively reliable but also raises privacy and security concerns, as customers need to provide sensitive personal information.
Germany's Two-Step Verification
Germany has adopted a stricter two-step verification method for online tobacco sales. According to Philipp, the CEO of BfTG, German online tobacco platforms require customers to upload identification documents when placing an order to prove they meet the minimum age requirement. Additionally, when the product is delivered, the customer must present their ID again. This method reduces the chances of minors bypassing the verification process by verifying the age at two different stages of the order process. However, Philipp also pointed out that this verification method is not foolproof and there is still a risk of steps being overlooked or improperly executed. As a result, Germany is actively exploring more efficient and rigorous verification methods.
4. The Digital ID Wallet in Europe
While Germany and some other EU countries have implemented stricter age verification measures, the EU has not yet adopted a unified standard for age verification. To address this issue, the UK-based NGP Trends company has proposed a "Digital ID Wallet" project. The goal of this project is to provide EU citizens with a secure, reliable, and privacy-respecting digital identity verification system. Through this digital identity system, EU citizens can quickly and accurately verify their age when purchasing age-restricted products, including tobacco.
The digital ID system offers a high level of security because it uses encryption technology to protect users' personal information while also simplifying the identity verification process. According to Carter, the digital ID wallet is not limited to vapes and traditional tobacco products but can also be used for other age-restricted goods such as alcohol and knives. In the future, this system could become the standardized age verification tool across the EU.
5. Japan’s Taspo Card
Unlike Europe’s digital ID system, Japan uses a specialized age verification tool called the Taspo card to regulate the sale of tobacco products. The Taspo card is an identification card designated by the Japanese government to verify that the cardholder is at least 20 years old and meets the minimum age requirement for purchasing tobacco products. Whether buying tobacco from a vending machine or a physical store, customers must show their Taspo card to prove their age.
The application process for the Taspo card is relatively simple. Consumers can apply online or visit a tobacco shop, providing identification documents. The card is issued free of charge, but if it is lost or the cardholder needs to update their address, a ¥1,000 fee applies. While the implementation of the Taspo card has been somewhat effective, it has some limitations. For instance, the Taspo card is not used for online shopping, which means some consumers may still find alternative ways to purchase tobacco products. Additionally, since the Taspo card is only used for age verification, the cardholder's other personal information is not effectively protected, which could lead to privacy risks.
6. Bluetooth and Facial Recognition Technologies
To further improve the accuracy and convenience of age verification, many tobacco product manufacturers are exploring the use of modern technology. For example, some vapes and heated tobacco products pair with mobile devices via Bluetooth, and users can only use these products after successful pairing. This method effectively prevents minors from purchasing tobacco products through others, but it also adds complexity to using the devices.
Additionally, some retailers are now incorporating facial recognition technology to assist with age verification. Using this technology, retailers can capture customers’ facial features and apply algorithms to estimate whether they are of legal age to purchase tobacco. Although this technology improves verification accuracy to some extent, its reliability remains controversial, as facial recognition can vary in performance depending on the environment.
7. Future Outlook
As technology continues to evolve, future age verification methods may become even more intelligent and convenient. For instance, through artificial intelligence and big data analysis, retailers may be able to more accurately determine a customer's age, even automatically confirming their age before they select tobacco products. Furthermore, blockchain technology could potentially offer a more secure and transparent way to verify age in the future.
Nevertheless, no single verification method is currently 100% effective. Minors may still bypass verification through methods such as forging documents or borrowing others' IDs. Merchants and governments must continue to explore new technologies to improve the accuracy and security of age verification. In this process, protecting consumer privacy while ensuring that verification procedures are simple and accurate will be important directions for future technological development.
In conclusion, as products like vapes become more popular, countries around the world are continuing to strengthen their age verification policies for tobacco products. While verification methods face certain technological and practical challenges, countries are gradually developing diverse approaches through continuous innovation and optimization. In the future, with advances in technology and deeper global cooperation, age verification for tobacco products will become more intelligent, efficient, and secure.
8. Challenges and Opportunities in Global Cooperation
As the use of vapes and other tobacco products grows globally, the issue of age verification becomes even more complex, especially when considering cross-border sales. Many countries have different legal standards for the legal age to purchase tobacco products, which creates potential loopholes for minors to exploit, especially with online shopping platforms that serve international customers. For example, if an online store based in a country with a lower age limit sells products to customers in a country with stricter regulations, there is a risk that minors could bypass the age verification process.
This discrepancy highlights the need for greater international cooperation to standardize age verification processes, ensuring that customers can only purchase tobacco products if they meet the legal age in their country of residence. One potential solution could be the creation of an international age verification system or platform, which could be implemented by online retailers to confirm the legal age of customers based on their location. Such a system would need to balance efficiency, privacy, and security to protect sensitive data.
In addition, governments can also collaborate with tech companies to innovate and test new solutions for age verification. For instance, integrating artificial intelligence with geolocation services could create a more secure and precise way to verify customers' ages in real time, without sacrificing the user experience. Ultimately, as the digital economy continues to expand, stronger global partnerships will be essential for creating a safer environment for consumers, particularly minors.