Vape Club Comments on Vape Bill
Dan Marchant, CEO and founder of the UK’s largest vaping retailer Vape Club, has commented on the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, as it progresses to its third and final reading
-
by Dave Cross
Share on:
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will likely see its third and final reading in the Commons in the coming weeks, the final stage before moving to the House of Lords. As the Bill progresses, industry experts have expressed their concerns that this could lead to a surge in individuals purchasing illicit vaping products. Dan Marchant, CEO and founder of the UK’s largest vaping retailer, Vape Club, has offered his insights.
Last week, Planet of the Vapes reported how the UK Vaping Industry Association was calling on the Government to offer more help to transition smokers away from cigarettes.
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill is set to:
- Enable bans on flavours
- Reduce the appeal of vapes
- Remove vapes from display, equating them with tobacco products
- Ban all promotion to smokers and restrict on where people can vape
- Ban vape vending machines in hospitals and mental health facilities
The New Nicotine Alliance, an independent charity working on behalf of nicotine consumers, has called the Bill an “all-out offensive on vaping”.
Vape Club’s Dan Marchant told Planet of the Vapes this week: “The UK already has a thriving black market for illegal disposable vapes - the overcapacity, sometimes over strength products, which have not been through the regulatory processes in the UK to ensure they are fit for purpose.
“It is estimated that the illegal market is actually as big as the legal market, and with so many adults relying on disposable vapes to stay away from cigarettes any kind of ban is just going to result in a boom for the illegal traders. If the authorities cannot enforce the current laws, what makes them think they will be able to enforce new laws, or that the rogue retailers will stop simply because it is made ‘illegal’ - it’s already illegal.
“These illicit disposable products have already overtaken counterfeit tobacco as the criminal underclass’s number one cash cow - primarily because they are being allowed to get away with it by the authorities. And let’s be very honest here, any company willing to sell an illegal (potentially harmful) product is also going to have no qualms about selling them to children.
“Illicit vaping products have the potential to be dangerous to the user's health. We’d advise steering clear of any retailer you’re unsure of, making sure to buy from reputable retailers.
“The responsible side of the industry is literally begging for the authorities to enforce the regulations and take serious action against the businesses flouting the rules. What’s needed is a licensing scheme, so that proper age verification tests can be applied to every retailer. There must also be higher fines applied to every breach for the rogue sellers. The UK Vaping Industry Association is calling for the fines to be raised to at least £10,000, which would be a real deterrent.”
Photo Credit:
Image generated by author using AI, logo added
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.
