4 - Autumn 2024 Round-up

The World We Knew

As we saw, the year began with Singapore cracking down on incoming passengers to Changi airport, threatening fines galore. It also pledged to carry out random searches in the business district, shopping centres, parks, smoking areas, bars and clubs, to create a climate of fear.

Wouldn’t you just know it but it’s idiotic approach to tobacco harm reduction has failed and, come the end of 2024, claims are being made that vaping is “getting out of hand”. It’s almost like it was forseeable.

Between April and June, 2,530 people caught vaping or in possession of a vape. All of them, even the teenagers, were issued with a fine of approximately £1,140.

Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Health Rahayu Mahzam promised to make the ban on vapes “even more of a ban”.

Just a lump of coal for you then, Rahayu.

Harm reduction expert Nancy Loucas exposed the flaws contained in a UN Special Rapporteur’s harm reduction report, calling it a dangerous setback in the global fight against smoking-related deaths.

“By demonising these products, and not addressing and supporting the right to health of the end users of these products, the UN is effectively condemning countless smokers to continued exposure to the deadly toxins in cigarette smoke.”

That’ll be something under the tree for Nancy.

Poland’s decision to decision to raise taxes on heated tobacco products and e-liquids drew strong rebuke from The World Vapers' Alliance.

“Numerous studies have shown that when the price of e-liquids rises, many users, especially young adults, switch back to traditional cigarettes. This cross-price effect undermines public health efforts by increasing smoking rates instead of reducing them,” it said.

Presents for the WVA, lumps of coal for the Polish government.

Smoke Free Sweden pointed at Spain and muttered under its breath, declaring the Spanish tax on vaping “dangerously misguided”.

Dr Delon Human added: “We urge the Spanish government to reconsider taxing safer alternatives the same as cigarettes and instead focus on evidence-based policies that have been proven effective in Sweden and other forward-thinking nations. With the tools available today, we have the opportunity to foster a healthier, smoke free future. It’s essential to maintain these tools, which are already assisting millions in their efforts to quit smoking for good.”

A bulging stocking for Dr Human and absolutely nothing nice being dropped off for the Spanish government…but then Spain isn’t acting independently. EU strategy across the board is costing lives, Smoke Free Sweden says.

Dr Delon Human, lead author of the report Missing The Target, says: “It is time for the EU to recognise that restrictive policies on safer nicotine alternatives are costing lives. The data clearly show that countries prioritising harm reduction are achieving the smoke free goals that remain a distant dream for other member states. Only by embracing safer alternatives can the EU hope to reverse the current trends, save lives and achieve its long-awaited smoke free goal.”

Prohibition Blues

Bans are all the rage at the moment; New Zealand’s proposed ban on closed vaping systems “is set to undermine years of progress in tobacco harm reduction”, according to a scathing comment by the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates.

“This amendment will make it more difficult for adults who smoke to access vaping products, potentially pushing them back to smoking. It's a step backwards in our journey towards a smoke-free New Zealand,” said Nancy Loucas.

Despite being hit at the polling booth, Tories are still to learn what the ‘popular’ means in ‘popular conservatism’ as the Conservative-majority Cornwall Council pushed Health Secretary Wes Streeting to ban all vape flavours “to protect children”.

Councillor Barry Jordan said: “They can explode in your pockets – they’re a dangerous thing.”

Councillor Louis Gardner claimed: “My daughter’s nine, she’s been offered vapes at school.”

Neither explained how that has anything to do with flavours - empty stockings all round for Kernow’s Tories.

And the Irish government better not hold out any hopes for a bountiful pile under the Christmas tree as Health Minister Stephen Donnelly pushes through their own flavour and disposables ban, adding: “We are moving to plain packaging, and we are moving to remove the point of sale.”

John Mallon, spokesman for Forest Ireland, said: “A ban on flavoured e-cigarettes would be a grossly disproportionate reaction because the current evidence suggests that, in terms of risk, vaping is much safer than smoking. No-one wants to see children smoking or vaping, but the choice of flavours is one of the most attractive aspects of vaping for adults who are trying to quit smoking.”

Put John down for one of those chocolate bar assortments, Santa, and scrub Mallon from getting anything nice.

And then there’s us.

The British Government announced its plans to “crackdown on single-use vapes” by banning the sale and supply of single-use vapes in England on 1 June 2025. Needless to say that this was joyously welcomed by Action on Smoking and Health who, despite having evidence to show that most teens are using illicit products to begin with, believe this ban will achieve what all the other bans around the world have failed to achieve.

The British Medical Association wasn’t happy though – it wanted an even bigger ban, including all flavours, forced plain packaging and a prohibition on companies being able to make any claim that vaping works as a smoking cessation product.

Before we go any further, forget about everyone at ASH and the BMA, Father Christmas.

The UK Vaping Industry Association said disposable vapes have made “a huge contribution” to bringing down smoking rates amongst adults.

John Dunne, Director General of the UKVIA, added: “We recognise that disposable vapes have divided opinion, but their accessibility and convenience, particularly amongst low income groups who are the most prevalent smokers, should not be forgotten and highlights the careful balancing act required in future legislation so that it does not penalise those adult smokers that want to give up by using vapes, which have been evidenced to be the most effective method in quitting cigarettes.”

The Independent British Vape Trade Association welcomed the clarity the ban statement provided but continued: “Much of the political and media narrative around the policy intent continues to concern reducing youth access to vapes. It must be noted that it is already illegal to sell vapes to anyone under 18, and proxy purchases are also banned.  We hope the assumption that a ban on single use vapes will effectively remove them from circulation is justified, given the scale of the existing illicit market. Increased resources for national and local enforcement should be actioned immediately, not just when the ban comes into force.”

The World Vapers’ Alliance criticised the UK government, pointing to research from University College London that found the ban will have “a disproportionate impact on disadvantaged groups that have higher rates of smoking and typically find it harder to quit”.

Michael Landl, Director of the World Vapers’ Alliance, stated: “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.”

Tell Us The Truth

Following a new set of ASH findings about adult vaping, UKVIA said: “If vaping is to reach its full potential in supporting the smokefree ambition, action must be taken to address growing misperceptions about the less harmful alternative which are no doubt being exacerbated by mainstream media scare stories and some mixed messaging in the public health sphere.”

Cochrane provided further updates to the evidence surrounding vaping.

“Just over half (54%) were still using an e- cigarette 6 months later. Among those who had successfully stopped smoking, the proportion still using e-cigarettes 6 months later was even greater at 70%. If on-going vaping prevents relapse, this would likely provide a benefit.”

The Australian Medical Association doesn’t like truth, it far prefers promoting fears about vaping and casting proven facts about the tobacco harm reduction tool as “dangerous myths”.

“The idea that vaping is a safe or ‘safer’ alternative to smoking is a highly dangerous narrative pushed by tobacco companies,” AMA Tasmania claims.

Add them to the naughty list, Saint Nick.

And Scottish figures highlighted a worrying gap in the effectiveness of the smoking cessation services. VPZ Director, Doug Mutter said: “These are concerning facts that reveal a clear lack of consistency in addressing public health's number one killer - smoking. We believe it is time to embrace the facts that vaping is twice as effective than standard stop-smoking methods and incorporate it as a smoking-cessation tool into the current NHS services strategy.”

Nice list:

• Doug Mutter

Naughty list:

• Public Health Scotland

The UK Vaping Industry Association issued another Freedom of Information request, this time finding out that the £30 million funding for Trading Standards enforcement activities promised by Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government was never given out.

*Add Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt to the coal recipients, Papa Noel.

And Vape Superstore conducted a survey and discovered that the main reason vaping helps smokers quit and remain tobacco free are the flavours available. 

No surprise there for any of us ex-smokers.

I Fought The Law

We Vape identified illegal sales taking place.

Mark Oates said: “There should be a legal requirement for all vapes to be tested and certified as compliant with UK law before they are allowed to go on sale. Frankly, it beggars’ belief that this isn’t already the case. “Pre-sale certification would reassure wholesalers and retailers that the vapes they are selling are legal and get those that aren’t off the shelves.

The Independent British Vape Trade Association formed a partnership with Kent trading standards, Kent police, Kent community safety and public health. The aim is to target and take a zero-tolerance approach to underage vape sales.

POTV readers read a stream of articles this year documenting raids and shop closures, indicating that despite the penalties, some retailers aren’t deterred and persist in supplying illegal products to teens.

The Tax Man's Taken All My Dough

Then the British Government announced an abysmal 378% tax hike. Different bottles command different percentage rises as it’s costed at £2.20 per 10ml of liquid regardless of nicotine content.

Again, Action on Smoking and Health welcomed this nonsense, but the Independent British Vape Trade Association called it “questionable”.

“It would seem a little questionable to increase the cost of vaping, especially given there are still around six million adult smokers for who you’re trying to give every opportunity to make the transition to less harmful products. There’s also the potential negative effect of an excise on public services utilising vapes within their smoking cessation services. The IBVTA do not believe that any excise tax should be applied to products supplied via these services,” the IBVTA commented.

The UK Vaping Industry Association stated: “[The] announcement is effectively a revenue grab from former smokers and penalising them for making considerably less harmful choices. It would also make more sense for vapes to be taxed at a lower VAT rate, which is the case for other Nicotine Replacement Therapies, which have proven to be considerably less successful than vapes in helping smokers quit.”

The New Nicotine Alliance, a consumer charity, was riled: “It was to be hoped that a new government would take time to consider the problems that would arise as a result and study the subject more seriously. However, the new government appears to be as ill-informed as the last and likely swayed more by tabloid rhetoric than sober, evidence-based research. The new government promised change, but little has changed for the better.”

Dr Sarah Jackson said: “The £2.20 per 10ml duty rate will substantially increase the cost of vaping.  This will make vaping less affordable for young people and might therefore help to reduce youth vaping rates.  However, it will also make it more expensive for people to use e-cigarettes to stop smoking (although the planned tobacco tax increase means it should still be cheaper to vape than smoke).  This could undermine progress in reducing smoking, which is the much more harmful behaviour.  Unintended consequences could be greater for more disadvantaged groups who are more likely to smoke but have less money to spend.”

Martha Gill, writing in The Observer, said there’s a “moral panic over vaping”, adding, “we risk forgetting that cigarettes kill.”

You're wondering now, what to do, now you know this is the end

The final wick was coiled by French consumer group SOVAPE. 

“Adding to a long list of attacks,” SOVAPE said, “BVA's recent refusal to carry out SOVAPE's annual survey confirms the impossibility for the association to continue its dialogue action on reducing the risks of smoking in France. SOVAPE has therefore decided to dissolve itself.

““This refusal is added to a long series of erroneous and defamatory statements regarding the fight led by the association. These unfounded attacks, through the press, are added to the actions carried out behind the scenes with political leaders or the administration, pressure, sometimes exerted directly by cigarette lobbyists, or more personal attacks on the fringes of the association, with a gag order against the blog of one of our members, and reprisals at the professional level of personalities who dared to support our approach.”

Au revoir à nos amis.

And finally…

As alluded to in the first article, various bands, song titles and references to songs were buried in the 12,500 words of the four end of year articles. If you were playing along, how many did you spot?

Christmas Article 1

• Confusion - ELO
• Facts of Life – King Crimson or Black Box Recorder or Talking Heads
• World Shut Your Mouth – Julian Cope
• Die For The Government – Anti-Flag
• The Mighty Fall When Votes Are Called – BanBan, reference to BA Robertson, Bang Bang
• Thank You For The Music - Abba

Christmas Article 2

• All Around The World – Oasis
• Techno Cosmic Research Institute – Trent Reznor
• Parliament Funk – Knife Party
• When Britain Refused To Sing – Black Box Recorder

Christmas Article 3

• Mad World - Tears for Fears
• Down Under – Men Without Hats
• This is Deutsch - Eisbrecher
• Scary Politicians - Lee "Scratch" Perry
• She Blinded Me With Science – Thomas Dolby
• News From The Front – Bad Religion

Christmas Article 4

• The World We Knew – Frank Sinatra
• Prohibition Blues - The Missourians (or the 20s act of your choice)
• I Fought The Law – The Clash, or, if you’re old enough, Sonny Curtis of the Crickets or the Bobby Fuller Four
• Tell Us The Truth – Sham 69
• You're Wondering Now – The Specials
• The Tax Man's Taken All My Dough, reference to The Kinks, Sunny Afternoon
• You're wondering now, what to do - The Specials

Photo Credit:

• Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash

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.