Craig Whi’a’ka's Questions

Conservative Assistant Whip Craig Whittaker asked the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care whether the Department has considered the potential merits of introducing a retailer licensing scheme for the sale of vapes. 

Whi’a’ka.

Craig Whi’a’ka.

See? You’re doing it now too. 

Craig Whi’a’ka asked the Secretary of State for Health…

The retailer licensing scheme is something the industry has been pushing for as a sensible way of vape sales legislation to control the supply of illicit products to underage buyers. For reasons only know to herself, Andrea Leadsom MP is against it and prefers the already failed before it’s started approach of bans and restrictions. 

Andrea Leadsom, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Health and Social Care, told Whi’a’ka: “The Government is concerned about the worrying rise in vaping among children. Youth vaping has tripled in the last three years, and one in five children now use a vape. To address this, we recently published our response to the smoking and vaping consultation, which sets out our plan to restrict vape flavours, point of sale display, and packaging.”

You have to wonder if members of her own party find her inability to answer a question as frustrating as the public would?

She continued: “We also set out our plans to introduce an age of sale requirement for non-nicotine vapes and other consumer nicotine products, as well as a £100 fixed penalty notice for underage sales of tobacco and vaping products. In addition, the consultation response announced that disposable vapes will be banned, which will be taken forward by the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs. The Government will introduce legislation as soon as possible.”

Nope, sorry Mr Whi’a’ka, still no answer for you yet. Hang on, I think something major could be about to happen…

Andrea Leadsom: “Whilst there are no current plans to introduce a retail licensing scheme, we have announced £30 million of additional funding per year to tackle illicit and underage sales of tobacco and vape products. In April last year, we also provided funding for a new enforcement unit to tackle the illegal and underage sale of vapes, which has conducted targeted inspections in ports, upskilled trading standards officers, and piloted online underage test programmes.”

So, no to sensible legislation, and yes to giving Trading Standards a sticking plaster when successive budget cuts means they need surgery.

Craig Whi’a’ka then wondered what steps the Department is taking against online retailers in to prevent the sale of vapes to underage buyers.

Loquacious Leadsom told him that a strong approach to enforcement is vital. It’s easy to see why she’s paid the big bucks. 

“Underage and illicit sale of tobacco, and more recently vapes, is undermining the work the Government is doing to regulate the industry and protect public health. The sale of illicit products frequently targets children and young people in disadvantaged communities, widening health disparities,” she continued.

Finally, “For this reason, HM Revenue and Customs and Border Force published the joint illicit tobacco strategy, Stubbing Out the Problem, in January 2024. This sets out our plans to be at the forefront of tackling illegal activity and opportunities that criminals might seek to exploit. One of the strategies key aims is to reduce the demand for illicit tobacco, which will include tackling online sales of illicit tobacco on social media platforms, gathering intelligence on social media sales, and working with social media platforms to ensure we are effective in limiting criminal groups’ ability to sell illicit tobacco through these channels.”

The sharp eyed amongst you will note that there is not a single mention of vapes in Stubbing Out the Problem. Moreover, it details actions by HMRC and Border Force and none of them focus on online vendors.

‘Look at my CV’ Leadsom added that the Department for Science “is creating a framework of standards”. I’m sure you will agree that nothing says ‘eliminating illicit vape sales to teens’ quite like a well-crafted set of standards.

Leadsom did point to the Stopping the start command paper, and how it will “make sure that those under the legal age of sale cannot buy … vapes online, so we have committed to further enhance online age verification.”

Would you be interested in the fine detail of this proposal?

The only reference to verification is a pledge to “enhancing online age verification to stop underage sales of tobacco products and vapes online”.

That’s it. Zero indication of how this will be done, what timeline is involved, or where Leadsom is getting advice from. Given that she is ignoring the industry when it comes to licencing, it is unlikely she is speaking to age verification industry experts.

Let’s take a breather from her nonsense and lighten the mood a bit.

Craig Whi’a’ka.

That’s better. Craig asked the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment has been made of the potential impact of the proposal to ban disposable vapes on the illicit vape market.

Does Parliamentary Under-Secretary Robbie Moore know the score?

“On 29 January, a ban on the supply and sale of disposable vapes was announced as part of the Government’s response to its consultation on smoking and vaping that was launched in October last year. A ban on the supply and sale of these throwaway items will help to protect our environment, as well as future generations, from the harmful effects of disposable vapes. We will be working with the appropriate bodies to ensure that the ban, when introduced, is enforceable to minimise illicit vapes entering the market.”

Craig Whi’a’ka.

References:

• Gilbert’s Fridge - https://youtu.be/TZ9k_BtzYng?si=SD4kwUfCBUZLcCjN&t=254

Dave Cross

Journalist at POTV

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Dave 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.