Parliament
In all probability, Planet of the Vapes brings you the final questions about vaping in Parliament from Dr Caroline Johnson, the Shadow Minister for Health and Social Care
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by Dave Cross
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In all probability, Planet of the Vapes brings you the final questions about vaping in Parliament from Dr Caroline Johnson, the Shadow Minister for Health and Social Care. She directed questions to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). Dr Caroline Johnson, when the Conservatives were in Government, was the MP responsible for pushing a ban on disposable vapes with her private member’s Bill.
Dr Caroline Johnson asked the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information the Department holds on the number of vape distributors, importers, manufacturers and producers that are registered with the Environment Agency and a producer compliance scheme under the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations (WEEE) 2013.
Mary Creagh MP, Defra’s Parliamentary Under-Secretary informed her that the Environment Agency maintains a public register of registered producers and approved compliance schemes under the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013.
She said: “There are currently 34 registered vape producers in the UK.”
Dr Johnson then asked Defra how many times the Office for Product Safety and Standards has taken enforcement action in relation to the vape distributors, importers, manufacturers and producers that have not registered.
Mary Creagh responded: “Distributors are not required to register under the WEEE Regulations. There are takeback obligations on vape distributors which are enforced by the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS). OPSS regulates in a proportionate, evidenced and risk-based manner, that utilises a range of regulatory interventions to promote compliance. OPSS has taken no enforcement action, such as prosecutions, on vape distributors in either 2023 or 2024. OPSS has, however, been working closely checking compliance with distributors through 2024 to build the takeback network with some 10,500 points added so far this year.
“Importers and manufacturers of electrical and electronic equipment are required to register with their appropriate environment regulator, with companies based in England registering with the Environment Agency. OPSS does not have an enforcement role under the WEEE regulations in respect of importers and manufacturers, whether registered or not.”
Finally, Johnson asked what information Defra holds on the number of vape distributors, importers, manufacturers and producers registered with the Environment Agency and a producer compliance scheme.
Creagh said the Environment Agency holds a public register of battery producers and approved battery compliance schemes, adding: “Only battery producers that qualify as large producers are required to join a battery compliance scheme. Large producers are those that place more than one tonne of batteries on the UK market during a year.
“There are currently 25 vape producers that are also registered as battery producers, 21 of which have joined a battery producer compliance scheme. There is no regulatory requirement for battery distributors to register with the Environment Agency or a producer compliance scheme.”
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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