Vaping Industry Expert Weighs In

The new measures are being introduced to protect businesses that are following the law and tackle rising illicit and underage sales across the UK.

The Bill also includes plans to extend the indoor smoking ban to certain outdoor areas such as playground, and outside schools and hospitals. 

Dan Marchant, director of Vape Club, said: “We have been strongly advocating for a fit-for-purpose licensing scheme for retailers selling vape products since the beginning of this year. The fact that the government is now introducing one is extremely welcome news to us and one which makes our voices feel heard, particularly after launching our very own Retail and Distributor Framework in February. A proper licensing scheme was the next, logical step in legitimising the vape industry, restoring public trust and taking rogue traders off the board.

“It has been made abundantly clear that the existing legislation and enforcement model simply hasn’t worked. Through a Freedom of Information request this year, we were able to access data from over 150 counties across the UK and Ireland that shows just how lacking enforcement measures have been. Of the 2,871 retailers who were caught either selling illegal vapes or selling to children, only 139 were fined, with the average penalty amount sitting at only £2,019. This is frankly shocking, and it is clear that more needed to be done to shut them down."

“However, as always, the devil is in the detail. If a scheme similar to the current alcohol licensing is implemented, it is highly unlikely to resolve the issues that both the government and the industry want to tackle. This is exactly why we put together the vape licensing framework to illustrate how a sensible, well-funded licensing scheme can ensure:

1. Youth access prevention
2. Cut off the huge influx of illegal, untested and potentially dangerous products
3. Continue to maintain the enormous harm reduction benefits of smokers switching away from combustible tobacco to vaping - both for the smokers themselves and the knock-on savings for the NHS
4. Protect legitimate UK businesses that follow the laws and contribute significantly to the economy.”

“It is essential that the licensing money is ring-fenced for proactive enforcement of the rules - including age verification processes and frequent stock checks to ensure all products on the market are registered with the MHRA. There must also be a distribution license which will provide the funding for border force and trading standards to prevent illegal products from entering the country to begin with.

“The fines of £200 being mentioned would work as on-the-spot fines for individuals caught selling to minors, but this absolutely must be implemented alongside very significant fines for the businesses themselves - not instead of."

“The framework comes at a very important time, following last month’s announcement for the outright ban on disposable vapes, due to come into effect in 2025. There is already a major concern that the disposable ban, and any future restrictions, will only cause a huge boom for the already-thriving black market, which will serve to compound the situation if further enforcement isn’t introduced.

“We hope the government clearly outlines the authorities who should be charged with governing and administering the scheme as well as their duties and responsibilities so that this framework can become law and illegal vape sales taking place come with tighter, harsher enforcement”. 

References:

• Vape Club - https://www.vapeclub.co.uk/

Dave Cross

Journalist at POTV

View Articles

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.