The Tobacco and Vapes Bill passed through the House of Commons this week, but many in the industry feel that further changes are needed.
The Bill will phase-out the sale of tobacco products across the UK to anyone aged 16 or younger this year, and will also include powers to introduce a licensing scheme for retailers to sell tobacco, vape and nicotine products in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Registration in Scotland will be extended to include additional goods, such as non-cigarette nicotine and herbal products.
The legislation received 366 votes in support, with 41 MPs voting against.
Mary Glindon MP, Chair of the APPG for Responsible Vaping, warned MPs that they must take a ‘delicate and calculated approach’ to tackle youth vaping without putting smokers off switching to reduce risk options.
She said: “There are hard yards we still have to take to reach smokers, and I fear that the Bill at present is losing sight of what the evidence base says about the relative harms.
“Vape flavours can play a significant role in passporting adults towards the less harmful alternative. A study led by the University of Bristol last year found that flavour restrictions could discourage adults from using e-cigarettes to help them quit smoking.”
Scottish Labour Party MP for Falkirk, Euan Stainbank, who is an officer for the APPG for Responsible Vaping, told the House of Commons that more needed to be done to prevent young people from vaping. He suggested introducing measures for age-gating technology, which would lock devices to under 18s.
The MP said the move would “strengthen the Bill’s objective to deter underage use by seeking to extend protection from point of sale to point of use”.
He added that flavours were a ‘huge reason’ why smokers quit and said that it was vital that the Bill ‘should not deter smokers from switching to vapes.’
This view has been echoed by many retailers, including VPZ, which claimed a ban on people’s favourite flavours that helped them quit smoking, would potentially affect around 3 million vapers and ex-smokers if passed.
What’s more, VPZ has been calling on the Government to ban big puff vapes.
VPZ took to the streets of Westminster and Holyrood to highlight its concerns around the super-size vapes, which it claims exploit a loophole in the vaping law that allows the sale of devices with greater liquid capacity than the legislated 2 ml.
By utilising an external plug-in tank of 10 ml, these vaping units effectively become a 12 ml product, which is 6 times more than the allowed vaping liquid in a disposable device.
Greig Fowler, director at VPZ said: “If MPs ignore those concerns and fail to respond decisively now, we risk further harm to young people, an environmental disaster, and the undermining of vaping’s role as a smoking cessation tool, which has already helped millions to quit smoking.
“We need policymakers to take into consideration our recommendations and work together to strike the right balance, protecting smokers and ex-smokers while preventing further damage to public health and the environment.”
Asli Ertonguc, Head of BAT UK and Western Europe, stated that more fine-tuning was needed if the legislation was to achieve the UK’s smoke-free ambitions.
She said: “The Bill will introduce several welcome measures designed to tackle a combination of youth vaping and an ever-growing illicit market, but these continue to be strong in theory and weak in practice.
“Take the retail licensing system for example – something we at BAT UK have long-called for. There is still no confirmed timeline for when this scheme will be implemented, with recent media reports suggesting that many councils are unprepared for its arrival.
“As well as that, the Government has yet to implement a mandatory 20mg cap on nicotine pouches, as recommended by the British Standards Institution, which would help prevent the supply of products containing high levels of nicotine.
“And there is no plan of action for mandatory pre-market testing of all nicotine products shipped to the UK. At BAT UK, we know where are vapes are designed, where the liquids are made and what is in them. The same standards must apply across the industry.
“As the Bill reaches the House of Lords, I encourage peers to raise these issues and encourage sensible amendments. Otherwise, the Bill will be a missed opportunity for the UK.”
A group of retailers has also expressed concern over the Bill via an open letter, signed by: Atul Sodha of Londis Harefield in Uxbridge; Kay Patel, who owns Global Food & Wine and Best-one stores in London; Natalie Lightfoot of Londis Solo Convenience in Glasgow; Neil Godhania, owner of Nisa and Premier stores in Peterborough; Avtar Sidhu of St John’s Budgens in Kenilworth; Dee Sedani, owner of One Stops in Matlock and Stoke; and Pinda Cheema of Costcutter in Coventry.
The letter read:
“The Tobacco and Vapes Bill proposes stringent restrictions on how we can advertise and display tobacco and vaping products. These products account for a significant portion of our sales, and limiting our ability to communicate with adult consumers around safer nicotine products than cigarettes have a direct and damaging impact on our revenue.
“While we understand and support efforts to curb youth access to these products, we believe that overly restrictive advertising rules will only serve to hurt law-abiding small businesses, while illicit trade and unregulated markets continue to flourish.”
