POTV's Disposable Vape Position Statement
Planet of the Vapes has announced its position on the advertising and promotion of disposable vapes on the forum and welcomes action being taken by Totally Wicked
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by Dave Cross
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The POTV admin team said: “The last few days have been incredibly constructive, and we would like to thank every single person who has got involved with the debate about disposable devices. This is exactly what this section is all about, to give a voice to every member.”
As a direct response, the team announced its official stance. From now on:
- We will not be taking adverts promoting disposables
- We will not be reviewing any single use devices
- We will not be posting any weekly deals offering disposables
“The forum has always been the driving force behind the whole POTV website. We have grown and evolved over the years but at our heart we will always be a community of vapers, passionate and vocal when we need to be.”
The team hopes, “this will become a much wider debate” and “we will be able to use our voices together to really make a difference.”
“We may not be able to single-handedly stop the scourge of disposables, but we can push for change. Prohibition historically has never worked, and we tread a fine line as the spotlight will be focussed once again on vaping and we need to be ready. There needs to be better awareness in the wider world of the lack of provisions for the safe disposal of these devices and the implications of their use. If we work together, we can make a real and meaningful difference.”
Planet of the Vapes contacted all the regional and international consumer groups for a comment. We also contacted the two UK trade bodies and a number of manufacturers. The result was disappointing.
The UK Vaping Industry Association commented that it is actively working with a number of its members and hopes to be able to issue a statement soon.
The Independent British Vape Trade Association responded: ''The IBVTA is proud that some of our members are among the first to introduce responsible disposal schemes for all vape devices, including disposables. We look forward to working further with members old and new to help them understand and develop policies that minimise unnecessary environmental harm.
"At the same time, the IBVTA cannot dictate to its members or to smokers that a device which is highly popular, extremely simple to use, and is helping many smokers to finally make the switch from smoking to vaping should not be used. They are also the only solution for some smokers, including those experiencing mental ill-health or mobility/dexterity issues.
"While there are undoubtedly less impactful and cheaper ways to vape, disposable products have always been available. For many current vapers, they were their first step towards a smoke-free journey. We can encourage our members to help smokers progress towards the best device for both them and the environment, but we cannot deny smokers the use of a product which could, ultimately, save their lives.''
Previously, POTV has addressed issues of sustainability. For example, we warned about the pressing need for lithium-ion cell recycling in 2015 [link], and more recently POTV’s owner, Toby Kilroy wrote about engaging with sustainable vaping [link].
Against this background, we were delighted to hear from Totally Wicked [link] that they have initiated a collection program for disposable vapes.
It told us: “The Totally Wicked group is fully committed to making sure that disposables are easy for customers to recycle. We’ve gone one step further actually, and since the DVP launched you can take ANY disposable e-cig into a TW store for responsible recycling, regardless of brand. It’s the right thing to do and will help minimise the impact this has on our environment while still allowing new and existing vapers to choose the right e-cig for them. In an independent survey commissioned by Totally Wicked, although 60% of smokers felt vaping was something they might try when they were ready to quit, 30% of them were concerned about excessive complexity and cost.
“The Totally Wicked group remains just as passionate about open tank systems as any veteran vaper would be, and TW stores will always try to guide new vapers towards this type of e-cig as the best solution to find freedom from smoking. That being said, the market has shifted significantly this year, and the demand for more simple devices has skyrocketed. This is why simplified options are offered like closed pod devices and of course the newly released DVP. This way, if a smoker comes in store adamant that they want something simple to get started, they have this option available to them.”
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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