UKVIA Speaks To The Media

“Bans don't work; this is going to be a huge burden on Trading Standards, who are already under resourced,” John Dunne told BBC Radio Scotland, continuing by telling listeners that he is concerned the move would sooner benefit organised crime than help reduce youth vaping and the impact on the environment. 

Dunne explained the problem: “This is because [they] aren't putting a ban on the importation of these products, so rogue businesses can still bring them into the country, even after they are removed from market, with the intention to sell on the black market.”

He reiterated the UKVIA call for the Government to adopt the free and effective licensing scheme to empower Trading Standards which the trade body has been calling for. Dunne added that Trading Standards are short on much needed funding to ensure compliance – something that could be addressed through enforcing “impactful fines for rogue businesses”.

John Dunne also mentioned that vape-related waste could be slashed “by increasing the tank limit from 2ml to 10ml” – generally recognised as an artificial limit unsupported by any research.

On Times Radio, John Dunne repeated that rogue businesses will be the winners by supplying black market products.

He clearly stated that the industry is against young people vaping and “there needs to be stronger enforcement of the current laws, which make it illegal to sell to under 18s and require businesses to meet environmental obligations.”

Dunne repeated that the UKVIA licensing scheme would generate £50m annually which could be used to target illicit vape sales more effectively.

On BBC Three Counties Radio, John repeated the same points and also addressed the merits of a prescription-only model. He responded by pointing “to the real-world consequences seen in Australia – which experienced a major surge in illegal imports and black-market sales after adopting such an approach.”

He made clear that vapes have been immensely effective in helping adult smokers kick the habit – something borne out by independent UK research.

BBC Radio 5 Live has been beating an anti-vaping drum ever since one presenter discovered her child vaping. Again, John explained how prohibitive policies fuel black markets, “and that other countries which have adopted strict restrictions on vaping products have seen huge surges in underground sales.”

John went onto say that Trading Standards are already struggling to enforce current legislation and that a ban would put more weight on their shoulders.

He also said the move would be “an absolute disaster if the government didn’t also block the importation of disposables from next summer.”

In addition to UKVIA’s other proposals, John called for a national education campaign which encouraged consumers to dispose of their vapes correctly.

Finally, on GB News, John Dunne pointed out that it is already illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to be sold a vape - and warned there needs to be greater enforcement of current laws to ensure underage and illicit vape sales are cut off for good; the kind of thing that would be addressed by the distributor licensing scheme proposal.

UKVIA said that in addition to John’s day of back-to-back interviews, “Marina Murphy, Andrej Kuttruf and Matt Crann had also been hard at work taking part in interviews” to give the industry’s perspective.

Photo Credit:

• Images from The UK Vaping Industry Association

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.