Proposals to outlaw the promotion of vaping products in Scotland’s shops are unjustified and risk hampering the drive for people to quit smoking, the SGF says.
The trade body has called on plans for a ban on in-store promotions to be scrapped, describing them as “bad news” for the mission to make the nation smoke-free. It argues that a Scottish government proposal to ban in-store promotional displays of vaping products flies in the face of expert views – shared in its own consultation on the move – that “it would be a good thing if smokers used them instead of tobacco”.
SGF Head of Public Affairs Dr John Lee said: “The evidence base presented in the consultation document simply does not justify the measures proposed. It clearly sets out the benefits of using vaping products to stop smoking. That it then makes the contradictory suggestion that displays of them should be banned is somewhat bewildering.
“The trouble is that banning the in-store promotion of vaping products will inevitably stall the drive to make Scotland smoke-free by 2034. This is clearly bad news for Scotland’s public health.”
SGF has shared its concerns as a government consultation on tightening rules on the advertising and vaping products – including the proposed ban – gets under way.
The organisation is instead advocating the responsible use of vapes as a tool to help smokers kick their habit, highlighting the benefits that they believe they can have in the document Vape To Quit.
Polling carried out for SGF last year found that Scots think access to e-cigarettes should not be further restricted and that more e-cigarette users get their information about the products from convenience stores than from their doctor or local NHS stop smoking service.
Lee added: “Scotland has led the way in encouraging people to stop smoking. Making vaping easier could be at least as beneficial in 15 years time as the smoking ban was 15 years ago.
“We want to encourage our customers to Vape To Quit.”
