Details on disposable ban open to industry insights
THE Scottish Government has published a new consultation on the disposable vape ban inviting members of the industry to give insights into the details on the incoming legislation.
The new consultation – which will run for six weeks – invites responders to provide feedback on the implementation of the ban, expanding on the definition of what constitutes a disposable vape and outlining the fines that will be issued to businesses who continue to sell the devices after 1 April 2025.
Scotland was the first home nation to set out a definition for what is a disposable vape including that the device is not refillable, not rechargeable or not refillable and rechargeable.
ScotGov has also highlighted that those businesses found to continue selling disposable vapes following the implementation of the ban could face a level five fine which is the equivalent of between £5,000 and £10,000.
The consultation has also made reference to a £30million enforcement budget for the ban which ScotGov said will “support enforcement in Scotland”, through funding to HMRC and Border Force.
However, many industry members have continued to warn against this potential ban, with fears that it will only fuel the illicit trade.
The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has highlighted this in its own report which found that the ban could potentially result in a £645million boost in the illegal trade.
James Lowman, chief executive at the ACS, said: “The upcoming ban on disposable vapes will provide a significant boost for rogue traders selling illicit products to meet the demand from the one in four existing disposable users that say they’ll carry on buying them after a ban comes into force.
“We support the Scottish Government’s stronger approach to enforcement when it comes to the severity of the fines being imposed, but the £30m enforcement budget is being stretched extremely thin to cover not just Trading Standards, but also HMRC and Border Force activity across the UK.
“If the UK Government wants to support responsible retailers and get illicit product off the streets, it needs to provide significantly more funding for local enforcement and put in place serious sanctions for those committing an offence.”
The Scottish Government’s full consultation can be found here, with the updated draft regulations found via this link.
