Shadow Health Minister, Wes Streeting spoke at a Policy Exchange event at the Labour Party Conference today, commenting on vapes having ‘a role to play’ for those looking to give up cigarettes.
He bemoaned those companies creating packaging and/or flavours targeting children and for retailers who sell to children he talked of potential financial penalties and/or a licensing scheme, as has been advocated by the UKVIA for many years now.
That said, he concluded by saying that he ‘didn’t want heavy-handed regulation’ and that it was up to the industry to sort itself out first, before proposing government interventions.
During the event, Streeting was asked by John Dunne, UKVIA, whether he was willing to sit down and discuss fines and licensing for retailers and closing loopholes to protect children – he accepted the challenge, saying that may be he had been ‘too hard on the industry’.