Westminster to introduce updated smoking bill
INDUSTRY members have broadly welcomed new powers to introduce a licensing scheme for retailers to sell tobacco, vape and nicotine products in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Hailed as a victory for “law abiding vape businesses” by the UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA), the new regulations will help to further clamp down on illicit trade and stop rogue traders in the tracks.
John Dunne, director general at the UKVIA, said: “We believe that the best way to address youth vaping and the black market, and not penalise adult smokers who want to quit using vapes is through a licensing scheme.
“We have been consistently calling on successive governments to introduce a robust and effective industry licensing scheme, backed up by fines of at least £10,000 for retailers and £100,000 for distributors who trade illegally when it comes to underage and illicit vape sales.”
Set to be included in the updated Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which was introduced on 5 November in Parliament, the UK Government has said the “world-leading” bill will include measures to create a smokefree generation and crack down on rogue traders.
The bill will see a new licensing scheme for retailers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and will introduce on the spot fines of £200 to retailers who are found to be selling these products to people underage.
Professor Chris Whitty, chief medical officer for England, said: “The rising number of children vaping is a major concern and the Tobacco and Vapes Bill will prevent marketing vapes to children, which is utterly unacceptable.
“This is a major piece of legislation which, if passed, will have a positive and lasting impact on the health of the nation.”
However, the new bill highlights new restrictions set to be enforced, such as new government powers to restrict flavours, display and packaging of all types of vapes. The bill will also see a ban on vape advertising and sponsorships.
Speaking on this, Dunne said: “We will want to understand the detail of these powers as it is imperative that the new government establishes a balanced approach to vaping policy which safeguards against the very real challenges of youth vaping and illicit products, while preserving and promoting vaping as the most successful stop smoking tool for adults.
“In particular, the government needs to take on board the critical role that flavours play in the appeal and success of vaping as a harm reduction too.
“Therefore, there is a need to put the focus on restricting inappropriate flavour names, not flavours.”
Marcus Saxton, chief exec at Totally Wicked and chairman of the Independent British Vape Trade Association, said: “There are things to be welcomed in this Bill, such as strengthened powers of enforcement against retailers who engage in illegal sales.
“However, there is also a danger that with so many legislative avenues being sought to reduce youth uptake of vaping, ‘regulatory overkill’ may hamper the future of vaping as the UK’s leading quit aid for adults.
“Excessive restrictions on the types of products that our members can provide may reduce the products’ appeal. Even worse, they may contribute to continued misperceptions about the harm of vaping relative to tobacco smoking.
“Specifically, the role of flavours in support adults to a successful quit attempt is accepted and understood by most public health stakeholders, and we believe to have been fundamental to the success of vaping in reducing smoking rates.
“Therefore, any reference to potential powers to restrict flavours is very worrying, as it threatens the government’s own goal of the UK becoming smoke free by 2030.”
Further to this, the updated outlines to the generational smoking ban, part of this new bill, has brought further cause for concern.
Nicotine products manufacturer JTI has said the updated proposals would “spell chaos” for small businesses and retailers, stating the burden that would fall on retailers would only put retailers more at risk from the public.
A spokesperson for JTI said: “The burden of enforcing a generational ban will fall squarely on retailers, and disproportionately on smaller, independent retailers.
“Recent British Retail Consortium data revealed 1,300 instances of shop workers being verbally or physically assaulted every day in 2024, with a significant proportion of these attacks following a request for age verification.
“The proposed generational ban and subsequent increase in ID checks will put retailer workers at even greater risk, particularly in small and independent businesses that have no security staff or additional protections.
“The physical and mental impact on victims is estimated to cost UK retailers £3.3billion annually – further highlighting the inconsistent approach from a government that has just announced, as part of chancellor Rachel Reeves’ budget, to ‘stop shoplifting in its tracks’.”
