Alcohol and tobacco

Local groups can set their own policy on alcohol and tobacco. Some allow offers but not wanted posts, and ask that offers state recipients must be over 18.

Home brewing and distilling

Home brewing equipment is fine to offer. Distillation equipment isn't, because distilling spirits in the UK needs a licence from HMRC.

E-cigarettes and vaping

This has come up twice in central discussions:

• February 2016 - a long discussion on Freegle UK Central about whether to allow e-cigarettes or vaping products. It's illegal for under-18s to buy or sell e-cigarettes or vaping liquid, but the same is true of knives etc. The conclusion was that it's up to each community to decide whether to allow them.
• 14 January 2020 - a further discussion (https://discourse.ilovefreegle.org/t/vaping-liquids/900) found there still wasn't a definitive answer on whether passing on vaping liquid is legal. Concerns raised included tampered-with or opened containers, age restrictions on sale, possible nicotine or CBT oil content, and the origin of the liquid. eBay doesn't allow private sellers to list vaping liquids, though they're freely sold on Gumtree. Again, the conclusion was that it's a decision for each community.

Regulations (updated 9 January 2020) restrict the sale of liquids containing nicotine in the UK: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/e-cigarettes-regulations-for-consumer-products

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