Prime Minister Rishi Sunak previously announced plans for disposable vapes to be banned in the UK as part of the Government’s efforts to tackle the rise in youth vaping. Following the call for a general election, confirmation of whether this proposed ban will go ahead remain up in the air. Until the next parliamentary session opens we will not know whether the reformed government plan to table the statutory instrument which could bring the disposable vapes into law.
New research from University College London found a ban on single-use vapes could discourage smokers from utilising vaping as a stop smoking tool, and cause those who have already quit using disposable vapes to relapse back into smoking.
Evapo CEO, Andrej Kuttruf, said:
“We are frustrated to see the Government’s proposals to ban disposable vapes and restrict flavours, two of the crucial necessities for helping smokers to quit and saving the NHS millions of pounds a year through the prevention of smoking-related deaths and illnesses.
Evapo believe that the best way to protect children, help smokers quit, and stop the criminals that sell vapes illegally to children is by introducing a sensible, evidence-based licensing regime, in the same way alcohol sales are licensed in the UK.”
Many fear that should the reformed government choose to pursue the ban we may end up following the poor example set by Australia, where strict vaping restrictions and a recent import ban on disposable vapes has resulted in a rampant market supplying illicit vaping products. Mr Kuttruf explains:
“Countries like Australia that have introduced vaping bans have denied smokers access to vital alternatives and only benefited criminals by creating massive black markets where 90 percent of vapes are then bought and sold. Millions of former smokers have been pushed back into the habit, hurting public health services and undermining years of progress helping smokers to quit.
“Excessive restrictions on vaping through banning disposables and restricting flavours could undermine and reverse the UK’s world-leading progress on smoking reduction, which has seen the UK achieve the fastest declines in smoking rates in Europe over the last decade. The proposed ban and restrictions will only serve to hand a big part of the regulated nicotine market to criminals on a silver platter.”
The Tory Government were also seeking new powers to restrict vaping flavours, despite the Royal College of Physicians expressing the importance of flavours in their submission to the consultation on youth vaping held at the end of last year. Fortunately, the Tobacco and Vapes Bill which sought these powers was not passed before the dissolution of the previous government, and will not be coming into law.
We plan to continue to petition for better enforcement of current regulations, and advocate for an action plan that tackles youth vaping without restricting or removing products which are an important harm-reduction tool for millions of adult smokers and vapers. Mr Kuttruf concludes:
“Evapo will continue to call for a sensible, evidence-based licensing regime that protects children, helps smokers quit, and stops criminals illegally selling vapes to children, and we stand ready to work with the Government on these important issues. Bans do not work, but licences do.”
We have more information about the proposed action in our blog post ‘Are disposable vapes being banned in the UK’.
