Parliament
Questions in the UK Parliament on the subject of vaping and tobacco harm reduction
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by Dave Cross
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Paul Maynard MP, the Conservative representative for Blackpool North and Cleveleys asked the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care what monitoring is undertaken on the safety of imported e-liquids used in vaping products.
He followed this up by asking whether the Secretary of State has plans to regulate or restrict the use of artificial colouring in e-liquids.
Next, he inquired as to the powers the Medicine and Healthcare Regulatory Agency has to regulate the production of e-liquids for vaping products in domestic settings.
Maggie Throup, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Health and Social Care told him: “The Medicine and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is the competent authority to manage the notification system for vaping products in the United Kingdom. The MHRA monitors imported e-liquids used in vaping products through this system but has no powers to regulate their production in domestic settings.
“Businesses supplying vapes and e-liquids to the UK market must ensure their products comply with the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 (TRPR), including relating to the safety of their products. Local trading standards have enforcement powers to remove non-compliant products. There are no current plans to further regulate or restrict the artificial colouring of e-liquids beyond what is contained in the TRPR for product requirements.”
Following on, Paul Maynard asked whether an assessment has been made of the risk to public health of the provision of samples of free vaping products to people under the age of 18, and if the Secretary of State plans to bring forward legislative proposals to include vaping products within the scope of Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act 2002.
Maggie Throup replied: “There are no plans to bring vaping products in scope of the Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act 2002. Advertising restrictions for e-cigarettes are outlined in the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016. As part of our Smokefree 2030 plans, we are exploring a range of regulatory measures to prevent children and young people from using vaping products.”
In the House of Lords, Lib Dem Lord Jones asked Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the study in the European Journal of Epidemiology The Burden of Mortality from smoking: comparing Sweden with other countries in the European Union, published in 2004, which found a lower mortality rate in Sweden following a switch from smoking to snus. He wanted to know why snus is currently banned in the UK.
Lord Kamall, the Under Secretary of State (Minister for Technology, Innovation and Life Sciences) told him: “The Department does not hold data showing the carcinogen levels of snus or other smokeless tobacco products.
“The Department is exploring a range of regulatory options as part of the development of the new Tobacco Control Plan. This includes further regulation on the most harmful tobacco products such as those smokeless tobacco products currently available in the UK.
“No assessment has been made of the study in the European Journal of Epidemiology.
“Snus is banned in the UK and we have no plans to introduce additional tobacco products to the UK market. Alternative tobacco-free products already exist, such as nicotine pouches.”
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.
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