Tobacco and Vapes Bill will help protect legitimate vape trade

The new Tobacco and Vapes Bill, introduced in the UK parliament today, includes new measures that will help protect the legal vaping industry, including, for example, the introduction of a licensing scheme for retailers selling tobacco, vape and nicotine products, and on-the-spot fines for those breaking the law.

“Estimates suggest that the legal and illegal vape trade are about equal in size in the UK, so it is right the government come down hard on those breaking the rules,” said Markus Lindblad, Head of Communications at Northerner.

Other measures include a ban on vape advertising and sponsorship, as well as powers to regulate flavours, display and packaging of vape products and other nicotine products.  

A licensing scheme for tobacco, vapes and nicotine

“We have yet to see the details, but there doesn’t look to be any surprises here,’ says Lindblad. ‘It’s pretty much what was expected. But a pleasant surprise is that the Bill includes powers to introduce a licensing scheme, which we, and many others in the legal industry, have long campaigned for.

However, I don’t believe that fines of £200 go far enough. At that level, they are unlikely to deter retailers willing to break the law by selling illegal products or selling to those who are underage,” he said. “We would like to see bigger more substantial fines that reflect the severity of the offence.”

- Underage sales remain a serious problem. Northerner research has shown that:
- 54% legally bought their own first vape, but
- 18% bought from a shop when underage,
- 10% bought online when underage,
- 7% bought their first vape when underage from a major supermarket chain,
36% have bought a vape for a minor, 11% do so regularly

Vape Flavours

Although there are no details as yet, the Bill will also give the government power to regulate flavours, subject to consultation. Products like cigarettes are not flavoured but vapes and other nicotine products come in a variety of flavours.

A UK government report showed that fruit flavours are the most popular among current vapers. This was followed by menthol/mint, then ‘chocolate/dessert/sweet/candy’ flavours.

“ Flavours are integral to vaping and essential in distinguishing vaping from smoking. There is significant risk that a loss of a broad range of flavours would result in few smokers switching to cause relapse among current vapers ”

– Markus Lindblad, Head of Communications at Northerner

Real world data has shown that this is the case when restrictions, such as access to flavours, are applied to vapes. “We are looking forward to seeing the detail of the plans,” he said.

Six million people still smoke in the UK.

Jan Yildiz Published 2024-11-05