After the discovery of disposable vapes containing illegal levels of e-liquid [1] and concerning figures over the amount of youth vaping that is happening, Minister Neil O’Brien recently gave a speech [2] at Policy Exchange outlining the plans to tackle these issues.
From increasing the fine for selling to under 18’s, to working with regulatory bodies and enforcement agencies to ensure compliance with regulations and examining the marketing practices some disposable vape companies use.
FREE E-CIGARETTE DEAL
After the discovery of cheap disposable vapes containing illegal levels of e-liquid, we have seen a knock-on effect in the E-Cigarette and vaping industry here in the UK as the illegal activity doesn’t end there; a growing concern over the number of young people getting their hands on vaping products is present and valid, with NHS figures indicating that 9% of 11 to 15 year olds used E-Cigarettes in 2021 [3].
In response to these recent discoveries, Minister Neil O’Brien gave a speech on the Smokefree 2030 policy that is aimed at cutting smoking rates, focusing on tackling these illegal products and preventing kids from vaping.
In his speech as part of the Smokefree 2030 policy, Minister O'Brien announced a plan to distribute 1 million free E-Cigarette starter kits in a 'swap to stop' scheme to encourage smokers to quit using an E-Cigarette.
WHAT ARE E-CIGARETTES
The E-Cigarette was invented by Hon Lik, a man from China whose father died from a smoking related disease. His aim was to create a less harmful alternative to smoking.
Fast forward to today and after several generations of E-Cigarette technology we are now in the position where there are a range of different types of E-Cigarette, each delivering a slightly different experience, but all use e-liquid which is the substance that is being vaporised and inhaled.
E-liquid is made up from a balance of propylene glycol (PG) and vegetable glycerine (VG), and can also contain flavourings and the substance that smokers are addicted to: nicotine.
The types of E-Cigarette include the cigalike style that is designed to look and feel like a traditional cigarette, vape pens that are a little bigger and may have a refillable tank, vape mods that allow for customisation and a higher degree of control, and mech mods that are for the experienced vapers who are happy calculating the resistance of the circuit for their mech mod to be used safely.
At SMOKO, we use pre-filled, low powered systems with a 80/20 PG to VG balance which together delivers a real smoking sensation that many of our customers are looking for! In addition, we use UK made e-liquid that is held to a high standard by the regulatory agency, the MHRA. Our devices are tested with our e-liquid to ensure the highest levels of quality!
Disposable vapes have become somewhat their own category, with the shapes and designs departing from the likeness of the other styles of E-Cigarette available. The key theme with disposable vapes is that they are pre-filled and can be used until the e-liquid is gone, or until the battery dies. The majority, if not all, disposable vapes are made in China who do not allow e-liquid into the country to be used in their products – which means they all contain Chinese-made e-liquid.
ARE DISPOSABLE VAPES GETTING BANNED
An investigation by the Daily Mail into the Elf bar 600 [4] range, bought from several supermarkets in the UK, found that they contained more than the legal level of e-liquid.
In the UK, the maximum tank size is 2ml, which means that disposable vapes should have no more than 2ml of e-liquid inside: the investigation found the Elf bar 600s were overfilled, on average, by over 50%.
British American Tobacco (BAT) conducted some independent lab testing on disposable vaping products and sent letters to distributors and trading standards as many other models were also significantly overfilled. They did not publish the results, and the results were contested by manufacturers, however it looks like this was true as the Lost Mary model disposable vapes mentioned in BAT’s statement were found to have upwards of 3ml in Sainsburys and Asda stores.
In addition to the illegal levels of e-liquid, there is an argument being made that some disposable vapes are being marketed towards young teens or children. While this doesn’t appear to break any rules or regulations, disposable vapes contain the controlled substance ‘nicotine’ which is only legal to buy in any form if you are over 18 years of age.
WHY DISPOSABLE VAPES ARE BEING BANNED
The fact that youth vaping rates appear to be growing means there is an appeal for vaping to young people. Whether it is the usual ‘wanting to appear mature or cool’ or an adventurous nature or trying new things, these vapes should not be finding their way into the hands of the youth because they contain nicotine.
The Daily Mail, continuing their investigations into disposable vapes, examined stores in London’s Oxford Street, a famous retail hub. In two candy stores, disposable vapes were on display in bright and colourful packaging, fitting right in with the bright and colourful packaging of the sweets on offer. Eye-catching marketing techniques used for children’s sweets has no place in the vaping industry.
Perhaps most damning is the appearance of cartoon characters and mis-spelled well-known sweets used on some of the packaging of these disposable vapes. Characters used include Bart Simpson from the Simpsons, minions from the ‘Despicable Me’ and ‘Minions’ movie franchise. Sweet names used include Jolly Rangers (Jolly Ranchers sweets), Rubison (Rubicon drink), Skitle (Skittles sweets) and Caliypso (Calypso ice lolly).
There is little doubt these practices are unashamedly aimed at youngsters.
HOW DOES THE GOVERNMENT PLAN TO TACKLE BAD VAPE RETAIL PRACTICES?
The additional aims of the Smokefree 2030 policy are:
- Examine the Environmental impact of disposable vapes
- To stop children and non-smokers from starting vaping
- Exploit the potential of vaping as a powerful tool to stop smoking
- Help people quit smoking, particularly where rates are highest
The government is already working with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and Trading Standards to agree the withdrawal of some of the illegal products, like the Elf Bar 600s, that have made their way onto the UK shelves. While this is a start, this area of the market is likely to be filled by competitors, many of whom also appear to be breaching UK regulation.
There is an intention to produce guidance to help retailers comply with the rules, increasing efforts to remove illegal products from the shelves and from coming into the country, and endeavour to test more products to make sure they comply with the UK regulations.
Environmental impact of disposable vapes
The speech from Minister Neil O’Brien outlined the steps being taken or considered to achieve these ends, as well as touching on the environmental impact of disposable vapes. According to O’Brien, over 1.3 million disposable vapes are thrown away each week, working out to approximately 10 tonnes of lithium a year that is going to landfill.
Action to stop children and young teens vaping
In 2022, 52% if youngsters who vaped did so with a disposable product, compared to 8% in 2021. Why this is occurring is likely to be down to the availability of disposable vapes, and retailers who aren’t invested in protecting the youth but instead care more about making a quick £5. Minister O’Brien intends to examine the marketing practices of these disposable vapes and increase the penalty for selling to minors up to £10,000 from £2,500 which can be applied to the staff member who made the sale and the business owner.
Minister O’Brien stated an intention to work with enforcement agencies, providing £3 million of funding to create a ‘flying squad’ to enforce rules on vaping and to tackle the sales of illegal vapes and selling to under 18’s. This, coupled with increased fines for selling to under 18’s, is likely to have the largest impact on keeping vapes out of the hands of young people.
A new UK-wide system for tracking and tracing tobacco products is already in place, but it isn’t clear how or if this extends to vaping products. It is clear that, for tobacco products, those selling illegal products could have their stock seized and their Economic Operator ID removed, preventing them from buying or selling tobacco.
Currently, the evidence indicates that vaping does not act as a gateway to smoking, so while there are adjustments to tobacco products suggested in the plan, these will have little effect on the prevalence of youth vaping.
Exploiting the potential of vaping as a smoking cessation tool
In his speech, Minister O’Brien references the studies that provide evidence that E-Cigarettes are a more successful stop-smoking tool than current forms of Nicotine Replacement Therapy that includes nicotine patches, nicotine gum and nicotine lozenges. International research also indicates that smokers who use a vape every day are three times more likely to quit smoking, even if they didn’t intend to! It is estimated that vaping contributes around 50 thousand to 70 thousand additional successful quits in England every year.
This evidence has led to a new plan to distribute 1 million free E-Cigarette starter kits to smokers across the UK! The initiative will start in the Northeast of England, in line with the government’s ‘levelling up plan’ with a view that the poorer areas of the country will see more cash circulation in the area when smokers switch over to vaping.
Smokers will be expected to engage fully in the scheme that promises a free E-Cigarette starter kit for those who commit to behavioural support. This ‘swap to stop’ scheme has been tested and seen to be successful, leading to the scheme being available nationwide over the next two years.
Taking this idea further, financial incentive schemes have been quite effective in encouraging pregnant women to quit. Due to the risks posed to the child from smoking, it is essential that pregnant women get the help they need to quit smoking. Trials of this nature found that women were twice as likely to quit when offered a financial incentive, and even better, the return on investment for these schemes is £4 for every £1 spent, making it financially viable instead of a cash ‘black hole’!
UK VAPING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION COMMENTS
The UKVIA (UK Vaping Industry Association) launched a proposal for a youth prevention action plan that called for fines of up to £10,000 for retailers, including owners and directors, for each instance of being caught selling to minors. This makes selling to kids for a few pounds of profit an incredibly risky transaction that could cost far more to the individuals in charge of the business, making it not worth the risk.
They also suggested a new national registration scheme for retailers to meet strict qualifying criteria in order to sell vape products. This would go a long way to ensuring those in vape shops have confidence when selling their product as well as dealing with a potentially underage customer. It also sets a minimum level of knowledge and understanding for shops in the vaping industry that could help to improve the industry as a whole, eliminating the sellers that consider vaping products as just a means to make some cash instead of a smoking cessation tool that should be taken seriously.
The UKVIA also want to introduce a national test purchasing scheme that would constantly monitor vape retailers to identify those that are selling nicotine products to under 18’s. This will help to enforce the other measures as well as keep vape retailers on their toes! They suggest this would be funded by the fines of those caught breaking the law, as well as the retail registration scheme.
THE RISKS OF OVER REGULATING E-CIGARETTES
We can all agree that preventing under 18’s from starting to vape and smoke is a good thing. However, there are forces working against the vaping industry that see vaping as just as bad as smoking. According to Public Health England, E-Cigarettes are at least 95% less harmful than traditional cigarettes – but this applies to E-Cigarettes regulated in the UK.
The United States, where the regulation for E-Cigarettes was non-existent in the beginning and ended up at the polar opposite; overbearing and now allowing only tobacco flavours, is where the scary headlines originate. With users adding illicit substances by means of vitamin E acetate, which has been found in the lung samples of all instances of EVALI (E-Cigarette and Vaping Associated Lung Injury).
This sad state of affairs could impact quit smoking rates; research from the UKVIA conducted on 2000 adult vapers found that 1 in 3 vapers fear a flavoured vapes ban would result in them returning to smoking – this could be as many as 1.5 million people – and 8 in 10 said that having a flavoured vape helped them on their road to quit smoking.
UK GOVERNMENT TO DISTRIBUTE 1 MILLION FREE E-CIGARETTE STARTER KITS IN 'SWAP TO STOP' QUIT SMOKING SCHEME CONCLUSION
It is clear that lines need to be drawn with regard to the marketing of vape products in general, perhaps enforcing a similar restriction to tobacco products in terms of the packaging used: plain and informative. This would certainly reduce youth appeal, making the products not fit in with brightly coloured sweet packets on a sweet shelf, in a children’s sweet shop.
More enforcement needs to occur and finding ways to finance enforcement teams like using a retailer registration scheme are a great idea as it will create a list of authorised retailers that can be checked with relative ease, any retailers selling vapes who are not on the registry could be fined or shut down as a result of breaching the rules.
With these steps, alongside an increased fine for selling to under 18’s, the UK’s vaping industry can maximise the benefits of E-Cigarettes, while minimising or entirely eliminating the risks to those who shouldn’t be vaping – i.e. kids and non-smokers!
At SMOKO, we use online age verification, name our flavours considerately, and use UK-made liquids so you know you are getting all the benefits from UK made and UK regulated E-Cigarettes! You can even recycle your empty refills with us for free and recycle your batteries as you normally would when they no longer recharge after months of use!
While the ‘swap to stop’ scheme starts in the Northeast later this year, why wait for a free E-Cigarette starter kit? You can get a free SMOKO VAPE POD Starter Kit when you buy a box of VAPE POD refills today!
Ready to save money, improve your health while being environmentally considerate? Quit smoking with SMOKO!
REFERENCES
1) BAT Testing Data Claims Major Disposable Vaping Brands Contain Illegal Levels of E-liquid
2) Speech by Minister Neil O'Brien on achieving a smoke free Britain
3) NHS and UK government statement on E-Cigarette use among teens
