WVA Criticises UK Government
The World Vapers’ Alliance has criticised the UK government’s plan to ban disposable vapes and called it “a reckless gift to the illegal market”
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by Dave Cross
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The World Vapers’ Alliance (WVA) has criticised the UK government’s plan to ban disposable/single-use vapes, calling it a misguided policy that threatens to undermine public health and disproportionately harm the most vulnerable. Research from University College London (UCL) and King’s College London shows that banning disposable vapes could stall progress in reducing smoking rates in the UK
The research from UCL and King’s was published in the Public Health journal back in January. It laid out the stark reality of what a ban on disposable/single-use vapes would achieve.
Conducted by Sarah Jackson, Harry Tattan-Birch, Lion Shahab, Melissa Oldham, Dimitra Kale, Leonie Brose, and Jamie Brown, it explained “why we must anticipate a range of possible consequences of upcoming vape-related legislation changes in the United Kingdom”.
It was released as the UK government was consulting on banning disposable ecigs. The authors looked at trends in disposable e-cigarette use among adults in Great Britain since 2021 and established who would be affected by a ban.
They analysed data from 69,973 adults surveyed between January 2021 and August 2023.
They stated: “From January 2021 to August 2023, the prevalence of disposable e-cigarette use grew from 0.1 % to 4.9 %. This rise was observed across all population subgroups but was most pronounced among younger adults, those who currently smoke, and those who stopped smoking in the past year.
Use among never smokers remained relatively rare, except among 18- to 24-year-olds. Use was significantly higher in England than Wales or Scotland and among less advantaged social grades, those with children, and those with a history of mental health conditions.
They concluded that a ban on disposable vapes will impact 1 in 20 British adults – equating to around 2.6 million smokers/ex-smokers.
Of those who will be affected, they found the greatest burden would be borne by young people who smoke or used vapes to quit, “including the 316,000 18-24 year-olds who currently use disposables but who have never regularly smoked tobacco, which may discourage uptake of vaping in this group.”
However, they point out that the ban will also affect the 1.2 million people who currently smoke and a further 744,000 who previously smoked.
“It would also have a disproportionate impact on disadvantaged groups that have higher rates of smoking and typically find it harder to quit,” they stated.
Michael Landl, Director of the World Vapers’ Alliance, stated: “Labour’s plan to ban disposable vapes is a reckless attack on harm reduction. This decision will hurt those who need help the most—current smokers looking for safer alternatives. By driving disposable vapes off the shelves, the government is handing the market over to illegal actors. It's shocking that a Labour government, claiming to stand for the working class, is pushing a policy that will hit the poor hardest and make it harder for them to quit smoking.
“This policy is not just a step back—it’s a dangerous move that could push current vapers back to smoking or into the black market, undoing years of harm reduction efforts and widening health inequalities,” added Landl. “The government should be promoting harm reduction, not crushing it under the weight of misguided legislation.”
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 as well in the German Parliament.
References:
- The World Vapers’ Alliance – www.worldvapersalliance.com
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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