The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has updated its guidance on the sale of vaping products after discussions with the UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) and Trading Standards.
The MHRA’s guidance for vaping retailers previously read: “When sourcing new supplies of any e-cigarette or e-liquid product, check that details of the notification for the product have been published in the list of Notified Products.
“If you cannot find the product on the MHRA’s website, ask your supplier to confirm that the product complies with the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations (TRPR) and has been notified to the MHRA. If a producer has not notified the product or it does not comply with the TRPR, they may not supply it to you.”
The new wording says: “When sourcing new supplies of any e-cigarette or e-liquid product, check that a compliant notification has been published in one of the Notified Product lists.
“If you cannot find the product on the MHRA’s website, ask your supplier to confirm that it has been published and provide details to enable you to confirm the product’s status. If a product has yet to achieve publication status, they may not supply it to you.”
John Dunne, director general of the UKVIA, said: “Due to the numerous enquiries we received about the legality of stocking new-to-the-market products, in particular the surge in new disposables, we decided it was imperative to talk to trading standards and raise this with the MRHA to seek clarification. Since then, we have been working with the MHRA to clarify the process around when products can legally be placed on the market for sale.”
Dunne added: “We want our sector to be known for upholding strict standards when it comes to the manufacture, distribution and sale of vaping products and this clarification from the MHRA can leave no one in any doubt about where their responsibilities lie.”
