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Journal of Trading Standards, Online Edition - JoTS Online

Welcome to the Journal of Trading Standards online edition, JoTS Online. Browse through our latest Articles - including Analysis, Opinion Pieces, Features and a selection of articles from our acclaimed print journal.

Although many JoTS Online articles are open access (public), others are exclusive to CTSI Members - in which case, you'll need to login to access them. If you aren't a member of CTSI yet, you can join us here. And, if you'd like to contribute articles or suggest topics for us to cover, please email our Editorial Team.

Latest JoTS Online Articles : 

News Category Tags: Crime, Product Safety, Health and Safety, Counterfeit Goods, Retail, Animal Health and Welfare, Legal and Policy, Enforcement Practice, Product Recalls, Property and Housing, Automotive, Vapes, Business, CTSI Conference, CTSI Hero Awards.

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Retailers slammed for tobacco ads

Posted: 03 February 2025

UPDATES: Supermarket giants Sainsbury’s and Morrisons have come to the attention of Trading Standards for potential breaches of the law after it emerged that tobacco-heating devices are being advertised.
 

Cigarettes sold to 13-year-old

Posted: 08 January 2025

UPDATES: A Bradford shop sold cigarettes to a 13-year-old volunteer during a West Yorkshire Trading Standards test purchase, despite prior warnings about underage sales. The case underlines the continuing need for age checks, public reporting and enforcement against retailers that put children at risk.
 

Knives illegally sold to under-18s

Posted: 03 December 2024

UPDATES: Lancashire test-purchase operations have exposed widespread illegal knife sales to under-18s, with young volunteers able to buy bladed items from more than a third of shops visited during Operation Sceptre.
 

Cumberland TS praises local shops

Posted: 30 August 2024

UPDATES: Businesses across Workington, Silloth and Maryport have been praised after repeated test purchasing exercises showed staff consistently challenged young volunteers for proof of age before selling age-restricted products.
 

Derby TS flags pricing errors

Posted: 10 June 2024

UPDATES: Derby Trading Standards inspected more than 5,000 household essentials across 47 grocery shops as part of a cost-of-living retail project, finding misleading offers, incorrect prices and hundreds of products with non-compliant price displays.
 

Retailers sign greenwashing pledge

Posted: 27 March 2024

UPDATES: ASOS, Boohoo and George at Asda have agreed legally binding undertakings following a CMA investigation into greenwashing, committing to clearer environmental claims and tougher standards for marketing sustainable fashion ranges.
 

Scottish consumers hit by unfair pricing

Posted: 25 March 2024

UPDATES: A nationwide Scottish Trading Standards project found widespread pricing inaccuracies and missing unit prices, revealing how misleading shelf labels and checkout errors continue to cost consumers millions.
 

Unit pricing on Tesco Clubcard deals

Posted: 21 February 2024

UPDATES: Tesco will introduce unit pricing alongside Clubcard offers after criticism that shoppers could not easily compare value, following pressure from Which? and concerns over compliance with consumer protection law.
 

Which? reveals pricing concerns

Posted: 16 September 2023

UPDATES: An investigation by consumer organisation Which? has found that supermarket chains Tesco and Sainsbury’s may be misleading customers into...
 

Lincs TS clamps down on illicit stores

Posted: 24 August 2023

UPDATES: Lincolnshire County Council is ramping up its efforts to stub out illicit cigarettes in the county, securing closure orders against...
 

Shop fined for illegal knife sale

Posted: 11 August 2023

UPDATES: An intelligence-led operation by Islington Trading Standards resulted in fines after a shop sold a knife to a 14-year-old and was found stocking hundreds of illegal tobacco products during follow-up inspections.
 

CMA publishes unit pricing review

Posted: 21 July 2023

UPDATES: CTSI has welcomed the CMA’s unit pricing review, which calls for clearer, more consistent and more prominent pricing rules across grocery and variety retail. The Institute says reform is needed, but warns that enforcement depends on properly resourced Trading Standards services.
 

A view from the other side

Posted: 05 July 2023

OPINION: “I would never let my children work in Trading Standards.” That was what an experienced Trading Standards Officer told me during my first week in the profession back in 2008. I was attending a South...
 

Tower Hamlets shops fined

Posted: 03 July 2023

UPDATES: Tower Hamlets Trading Standards has been clamping down on law-breaking businesses in the London borough, with recent successful prosecutions of a shop which sold alcohol to a minor and another business which sold dangerous cosmetics....
 

£130,000 of illegal tobacco destroyed

Posted: 08 June 2023

UPDATES: More than £130,000 worth of illicit tobacco seized through Operation CeCe has been destroyed, highlighting the impact of coordinated enforcement against smuggling, counterfeit products and the criminal networks behind them.
 

Zero tolerance on underage alcohol

Posted: 31 May 2023

UPDATES: A series of licence suspensions across West Sussex highlights the consequences for retailers caught selling alcohol to children, as Trading Standards reinforces a zero-tolerance approach to underage sales.
 

Worcestershire TS seizes tobacco

Posted: 31 May 2023

UPDATES: Worcestershire Trading Standards has seized thousands of illicit cigarettes, illegal tobacco and non-compliant vapes during targeted operations, highlighting the continuing fight against counterfeit products and unlawful nicotine sales.
 

TS 'declares war' on underage sales

Posted: 31 May 2023

UPDATES: Lancashire Trading Standards is intensifying action against retailers selling counterfeit tobacco, smuggled goods and age-restricted products to children, combining successful prosecutions with a wider crackdown on persistent offenders.
 

Shop fined for underage vape sale

Posted: 22 May 2023

UPDATES: A retailer has been fined after selling a vape to an underage test purchaser, reinforcing the importance of age verification and ongoing enforcement against youth vaping.
 

Shopkeeper fined for underage sales

Posted: 16 May 2023

UPDATES: A shopkeeper has been prosecuted for repeated underage sales, underlining Trading Standards' continued use of test purchasing to protect young consumers.