UKVIA’s FOI Findings

Seventeen major city and London borough councils have confirmed they have never received any of the Conservative government’s promised £30 million enforcement boost. The funding top-up was positioned as an answer to youth vaping and illicit tobacco concerns.

The research release comes as a growing chorus of politicians and health organisations call for a vape industry licensing scheme.

UKVIA proposed its licensing scheme to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak back in February. Despite being grounded in common sense and practical in nature, neither Sunak nor his ministers wanted to implement it.

In answer to concerns over underage and illicit vape sales, former Health Secretary Andrea Leadsom repeatedly said the Government was committed to providing £30 million per year in additional funds for enforcement agencies. Leadsom never explained why she was so opposed to the licensing approach.

A Freedom of Information investigation - conducted by the UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) - has shown no evidence that the Conservatives came through on this promise before they were ejected from Number 10.

As part of the research, the UKVIA analysed data from 15 major city and London borough councils, none of whom have ever received any of this money or any indication of how much they could expect to see - excluding Welsh and Scottish authorities, who said they were never eligible for the top-up to begin with.

UKVIA says that a previous analysis it conducted found that even if the Tories had delivered on that £30 million pledge, it would have been a fraction of what’s needed to fill the ‘black hole’ in funding for enforcement with two thirds being swallowed up by an illicit tobacco strategy which has nothing to do with vaping.

John Dunne, the UKVIA Director General, said: “The previous Conservative government made a huge song and dance about its investment in Trading Standards but, as the findings of our most recent FOI investigation suggest, this is just another promise that has gone unfulfilled.

“Labour has a golden opportunity to take decisive action and do what their predecessors couldn’t; put a stop to the rogue vape retailers who are unlawfully selling this age-gated product to under-18s and stocking illicit or non-compliant vapes.

“This starts with the introduction of a first-of-its-kind vape retailer and distributor licensing scheme which would not only block inappropriate businesses – such as sweet shops – from ever being able to sell these products and bring in much harsher penalties for those caught flouting the law, but would also generate upwards of £50 million per year in self-sustaining funding which could be used to empower Trading Standards and back a proactive national programme of enforcement.”

He continued: “We urge Labour to seriously consider the proposed scheme we put forward earlier this year as they decide on future vape legislation so we can stamp out illegal sellers and allow the legitimate industry to do what it was created to do – help bring an end to the public health harms of smoking once and for all.”

A recent study commissioned by the Association of Convenience Stores found Trading Standards needs a significant funding injection of £168,340,000 over five years if it is to fully enforce current vape legislation across the UK - the licensing scheme could generate this, and almost £100 million more, over the same period at no expense to the taxpayer.

The UKVIA’s FOI investigation comes as a growing cross-party chorus of politicians, including Lord Storey, Baroness Walmsley, Lord Bethell, Jim Shannon MP, Mary Kelly Foy MP and Dr Caroline Johnson MP, as well as the likes of the Royal College of Physicians, have indicated their support for a vape licensing scheme.

The FOI investigation undertaken by the UKVIA also looked at the vape enforcement activity undertaken by each local authority’s Trading Standards team between 2022 and May 30, 2024. Of the 17 respondents:

• 1,867 businesses had been visited on suspicion they were involved in the sale or supply of illicit vaping products
• 334 physical retailers were found guilty of engaging in underage vape sales
• More than 387,115+ illicit/non-compliant vapes were seized – the majority of which were put in storage, destroyed or sent to recycling centres

The vast majority of retailers visited on suspicion of selling/stocking illicit products or found guilty of underage vape sales were non-specialist outlets including convenience stores, post offices and newsagents.

It was also found that the Trading Standards teams gave out just £10,730 in fines for the sale and supply of illicit/non-compliant vaping products and just £20,340 for underage vape sales - many of the respondents saying that they don’t have the power to issue fines.

If the industry’s proposed vape retailer and distributor licensing scheme was in place, the retailers caught selling to under 18s in the FOI investigation could have faced a collective £3,340,000+ in penalties and been banned from legally selling the age-gated product for two years.

A similar study published by leading regulatory specialist Arcus Compliance last year reported less enforcement action and lower fine amounts amongst 21 major city and London borough councils – including those looked at for the UKVIA’s research.

John Dunne said: “It’s clear that more is being done to cut off the supply of underage and illicit vape sales and we commend under resourced Trading Standards officers for their hard work in bringing rogue retailers to book. However, without major investment and a clear national playbook for enforcement – which would be achieved through licensing - we will never truly be able to stamp out unscrupulous sellers and secure a more accountable industry.”

References:

• UKVIA’s Vape Retailer Enforcement Report - https://ukvia.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/VAPE-RETAILER-ENFORCEMENT-REPORT-FINAL-1.pdf

Photo Credit:

• Sunak image – public domain - https://jenikirbyhistory.getarchive.net/media/janet-yellens-first-foreign-trips-as-treasury-sec-4-cropped-48cba4, Tory trees from the Conservative Party, missing mi££ions from author’s bank account

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.