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BAT supports smoke-free UK

Smoke free UK

You want Britain to be smoke-free by 2030.

Surprisingly, so do we.

The UK government has tasked the Department of Health & Social Care with making ‘smoke-free’ a reality from 2030. In tangible terms, this means delivering on initiatives such as the 2019 government green paper on preventative health which sets out an ambition for England to become smoke-free (smoking prevalence falling to 5% or less) by 2030 – with Wales targeting a similar timeline and Scotland four years later.
 

The end of the decade is a little more than six years away and, as of 2022, the ONS recorded 6.4m smokers in the UK 1 . If we are to cut the number of smokers in England and Wales by an average of around 1m a year six years running – with an additional task to tackle the current 590,000 smokers in Scotland, the UK needs to reinforce its commitment to the smoke-free alternatives that make a real difference.

 

Many smokers have switched to an alternative nicotine product instead of continuing to smoke – and by far the most widespread - and therefore the one with the ability to reach the numbers required is vaping.

Major reports have been published by Public Health England (PHE), Office for Health Improvements and Disparities (OHID), and the Royal College of Physicians, among others, highlighting that vaping is at least 95 per cent less harmful than smoking.

 

It might surprise you that as the biggest vaping manufacturer based in the UK, we want more vaping regulation, not less. Read more about the five critical steps we believe the UK government needs to take to help realise our collective smoke-free ambitions from 2030.

A ban on confectionery, dessert and soft drink flavoured vapes

BAT supports regulation to ensure that the right balance is struck between promoting tobacco harm reduction and diminishing the risk of unintended use by underage, which offers government the best chance of meeting its ambitious smoke-free targets.

 

This approach recognises the role of flavours as an important driver of adoption for smokers seeking alternatives, while ensuring the removal of specific vapour product flavours that appeal uniquely to anyone underage and have no place on the UK market.

 

Other flavours should be allowed, provided they are named responsibly. Evidence submitted by ASH (Action on Smoking and Health) to the UK House of Commons’ Health & Social Care Committee in July of this year highlighted several studies that reported an association between quitting smoking successfully and using non-tobacco flavoured (e.g., fruit, and menthol) e-liquids as opposed to tobacco flavoured or unflavoured e-liquids 2 .

 

Imagery that looks like sweets or toys doesn’t belong on vaping products, nor does the cynical use of language designed to appeal to the underage. That’s why BAT supports an outright ban on vapes flavoured like sweets, desserts or soft drink brands.

 

This approach recognises the role of flavours as an important driver of adoption for smokers seeking alternatives, while ensuring the removal of specific vapour product flavours that appeal uniquely to anyone underage.

BAT supports a mandatory pre-market testing programme to ensure products are compliant with UK regulations before they can be sold.

 

Trading Standards estimates that a third of all vaping products on the market in the UK are not compliant with regulations 4 . Illegal super-sized, super-strength vaping products should not be reaching UK consumers. Manufacturers should be required to have their products tested independently to verify they comply with UK regulations before they are imported and allowed through customs. It should also be an offence to import vaping products that do not meet legal requirements which would enable additional powers at the border to prevent the importation of illegal products.

 

Retailers selling illegal vapes are not deterred by existing penalties, so we support harsher penalties, as well as removal of their retail licence, for anyone caught selling illegal vaping devices.

Harsher penalties for illegal sales or imports
Introducing retail licensing and restrictions

BAT supports restrictions on where and how vaping products are sold in the UK like those used to restrict the sale of alcohol.

 

ASH found that nearly half (48%) of vaping products used by underage users came from shops. To truly restrict the use of vapes among the underage, a retail licensing regime needs to be in place.

 

This would see those who sell vapes required to have a retail licence, which would be revoked if they were found to be selling to anyone underage. Retailers would also have to demonstrate to Trading Standards that they observe either Challenge 25 protocols or fit new technologies at point-of-sale locations which verify age, such as facial recognition cameras.

 

To support the retail licensing regime, vapes should not be sold near confectionery, and should only be sold behind the counter, still visible to smokers.

BAT supports increased resources for UK Border Force and Trading Standards funded by excise and increased fines.

 

Proper enforcement of vaping laws is fundamental. Increasing financial penalties for those that break the law, and imposing excise on vapour products would bring in more revenue to fund increased resources for UK Border Force and Trading Standards. In the long run, better enforcement should reduce offending rates, relieving pressure on the authorities.

Enabling tougher enforcement
Making vapes more environmentally responsible

BAT wants it to be mandatory for single use vapes to have removable batteries to make recycling more straightforward.

 

Five million single use vapes are thrown away each week in the UK according to 2023 research from recycling campaign group Material Focus, but only 17% of vapers recycle in the correct recycling bins, according to the same data 3 . More needs to be done to encourage vape recycling, including public awareness campaigns, more collection points in high footfall areas, and centralised schemes for collection. A manufacturer’s ability to sell vaping products in the UK should be linked to registration with the Waste Electrical and Electronic Recycling body.

 

With the consultation period on the Tobacco and Vapes bill about to close, we have a narrow window to get this right.

 

We recognise that some want single use vapes banned altogether, but we are concerned such a move would lead to unregulated sales, and less options for adult smokers looking to switch. Governments should wield their enforcement powers to help re-build confidence in vaping by ensuring adult consumers can buy legitimate products, and suitably penalising those who fail to comply.

That is why we are setting out our proposals clearly and publicly in UK newspapers, websites, and billboards.


Because by doing so, we hope to encourage and inform the debate to help get real results on reducing smoking rates.

 

Get the facts

Demonstrating the reduced-risk status compared to smoking of non-combustible products, including vapour, can only be achieved through science. It’s why we invest almost £300 million a year to find innovative new ways to contribute to Tobacco Harm Reduction.