The ACS and WVA Respond to the King’s Speech

During the King’s Speech, King Charles announced Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s new government's plans to “impose limits on the sale and marketing of vapes” by reintroducing an updated version of the Tobacco & Vapes Bill. The speech also outlined plans to protect vape shopworkers from criminal activity.

The Association of Convenience Stores chief executive, James Lowman, commented on the proposals: “We strongly welcome the Government’s commitment to take action on the assaults of retail workers, which local shops have been calling for over many years.

“We are also encouraged by the specific reference to tackling shoplifting, which is the blight of so many communities and funds the activity of gangs, addicts and dangerous criminals.

“There are a number of measures that retailers will have to change their stores and processes to accommodate, including those set out in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, the Employment Rights Bill and the Product Safety and Metrology Bill, as well as the plans to restrict the sale of energy drinks.

“It is essential that the Government works closely with the retail sector in this parliament to ensure that these measures can be introduced effectively, without the unintended consequence of delaying or reversing growth and investment by businesses.”

The Institute for Government discusses the King’s Speech

Addressing the aspect of the King’s Speech that announced the reintroduction of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, the World Vapers’ Alliance called it a case of “new government, old mistakes.”

Michael Landl, Director of the World Vapers’ Alliance, said: “It is already clear that the generational smoking ban won’t work, because prohibitions never work. What makes the plan even worse is the crackdown on less harmful alternatives. Less harmful alternatives like vaping must be key elements of an anti-smoking strategy. Science and real-life examples like Sweden are proof. Harm reduction works, prohibition fails. The UK must not go down this path. Ignoring the evidence and pursuing failed policies will only lead to more harm and higher smoking rates.”

The World Vapers’ Alliance says it, “amplifies the voices of vapers worldwide and empowers them to make a difference in their communities. Our members are vapers associations as well as individual vapers from all over the world.”

Michael Landl is the director of the World Vapers’ Alliance. He is from Austria and is based in Vienna. He is an experienced policy professional and a passionate vaper. He studied at the University of St. Gallen and worked for several public policy outlets and the German Parliament.

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.