“We are also doing everything possible to cut off the sales of vapes to Under 18 years olds at source, working closely with Trading Standards and retail trade bodies across the country.”
As vaping continues to dominate the news agenda, the UKVIA has spoken up for the industry on key issues including tackling youth use, environmental concerns and illegal products flooding the country.
The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) made headlines when it said illicit vapes topped the list of high street threats following a huge increase in illegal products being seized.
The CTSI said more than 1.4 tonnes of illegal vapes were seized in the last six months of 2022 in the North East of England alone.
It also said Trading Standards teams across England and Wales reported a ‘significant rise’ in underage vape sales and highlighted a recent survey which revealed that 60% of enforcement officers said they were most worried about illegal and underage vape sales.
CTSI Chief Executive John Herriman said: “We are worried about increasing breaches of the law, with many non-compliant devices being sold on the UK’s high streets.
“There is also an increasing problem with vaping products being sold to children in many general retail premises such as mobile phone shops, gift shops and convenience stores.”
Meanwhile, the Scottish Government announced it was carrying out an ‘urgent review’ of the environmental impacts of single-use vapes.
It said the review – to be led by Zero Waste Scotland – followed ’emerging concerns around the negative consequences of the disposable devices’ adding that it would inform potential policy responses and ‘could include a ban of the products’.
Scotland’s Circular Economy Minister Lorna Slater said: “Not only are single-use vapes bad for public health, they are also bad for the environment. From litter on our streets, to the risk of fires in waste facilities, there are issues which need to be addressed urgently.”
Iain Gulland, Chief Executive of Zero Waste Scotland, said: “Single-use items, like disposable vapes, are becoming an all-too-common eyesore in areas where we live, work, and socialise.
“Tackling our throwaway culture is a priority and we are happy to lead on this important review.”
UK Vaping Industry Association Director General John Dunne said it was important to address these important issues.
When asked by Channel 4 News about youth vaping and flavours which appeal to young people, he said: “Nobody who does not smoke should be using these products whether they are young or old.
“It is also important to remember that lots of adult products come in flavours…you can even buy bubble-gum flavoured gin.”
In response to criticism that the long-term health effects of vaping were not known, he replied: “We do know the health effects of smoking which is that if you smoke there is a one in two chance that you will die.”
The Director General told GB News that many of the illegal products flooding the UK market were designed for countries with less stringent regulations than the UK and EU.
He told Channel 4 News: “Tell-tale signs that a vaping product is not legal include a puff count far greater than 600 and nicotine levels higher than 2% which is the maximum level allowed in the UK.
“Frankly I am not surprised by the findings of the CTSI because the UKVIA has been dealing directly with Trading Standards, the MHRA and Border Force over this issue and I have been on several raids with Trading Standards officers in Westminster.
“The problem is that fines are too low and Trading Standards do not have the funding to carry out the level of enforcement they would like to see.
“This is why we are calling for a licensing scheme for the retail industry with the revenue being used to fund greater Trading Standards enforcement and fines of £10,000 for selling illegal products.”
On the issue of youth vaping, Dunne said in a statement:
“The UKVIA takes the issue of youth vaping extremely seriously and our work in this area is being led by a dedicated Youth Access Prevention Committee, which is looking at ways across the board to prevent vape products getting into the wrong hands.
“We are also doing everything possible to cut off the sales of vapes to Under 18 years olds at source, working closely with Trading Standards and retail trade bodies across the country. This has included producing a Preventing Underage Sales guide as part of our primary authority partnership with Buckinghamshire & Surrey Trading Standards.
“More recently we wrote to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and proposed a number of recommendations to come down hard on those who sell vapes to minors. These proposals are now being worked up in detail by a special taskforce within the UKVIA and cover the introduction of an approved retailer and distributor scheme; increased penalties of at least £10,000 per instance for traders who flout UK law; and the introduction of a national test purchasing scheme to ensure all the country’s retail operations are performing to high standards when it comes to preventing youth access to e-cigarettes.
“As a trade association we already conduct test purchasing amongst our members’ physical stores and online retail platforms three times a year, and over the next 12 months this will move from random to full scale testing across all members’ retail operations.”
ENDS