BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO LEADS THE CHARGE AGAINST ILLEGAL VAPES

WHY ARE DISPOSABLE VAPES IN DANGER OF BEING BANNED?

British American Tobacco (BAT) recently conducted tests on Elf Bar, Lost Mary, Found Mary, IVG Bar, Klik Klak, SKE Crystal, Smok Mbar Pro and Solo disposable vapes and found nearly all of them contained illegal levels of e-liquid. In the UK, the maximum amount of e-liquid in a vape is 2ml and this law has been broken by many disposable vape manufacturers, according to BAT.

INTRODUCTION

*2023 Update - Disposable vapes keep making the news, with another investigation finding disposable vapes in bright, sweet themed packaging in sweet shops on London's Oxford Street.

Disposable vapes are in the news yet again, with less than a month since the last news release about illegal levels of e-liquid found in Chinese-made disposable vapes. Previously, it was the Elf Bar 600 range that was found to be over-filled in supermarket stores in several locations in the UK, however now it appears this could be a wide-ranging occurrence in a number of different disposable vape brands.

E-Cigarettes are still relatively new, with regulations in place designed to protect the consumer. In countries with good regulations like the EU and UK, we have seen very little danger presented by E-cigarettes compared to other countries that have been slow to regulate vapes. It may seem arbitrary, however we will examine the reasons why a maximum tank size of 2ml really isn’t a bad idea.

WHAT ARE THE E-CIGARETTE REGULATIONS TRPR AND TPD?

With the introduction of the E-Cigarette, a device for consuming the addictive substance ‘nicotine’ that eliminates the harmful chemicals found in tobacco products, it was essential that regulations be put in place for maximum consumer safety (1). They function by using a battery to heat up e-liquid – the liquid mixture containing nicotine – which is turned into an aerosol or ‘vapour’ that is inhaled by the user for the nicotine to be absorbed by the lungs.

The TRPR and TPD regulations consider what chemicals are typically used for flavouring and placed restrictions on some of these. While flavourings are generally very safe to ingest, inhaling them to the lungs is a slightly different ballgame. Flavourings such as diacetyl that are safe to eat are not so safe to inhale (2) – diacetyl is linked to the condition ‘popcorn lung’ that was first observed in workers of popcorn factories that used diacetyl to flavour the popcorn, which is why diacetyl and flavourings that break down into diacetyl are banned as flavourings for e-liquids in the UK.

To some extent, these regulations are in place to ensure high levels of safety for vapers, but there are also underlying goals that both the UK government and EU want to achieve with regard to cutting the proportion of the population that smoke. This includes the amount of youth smoking and youth vaping (3) that currently occurs.

WHAT DID BRITISH AMAERICAN TOBACCO'S TESTING FIND?

British American Tobacco sent around 50 pages of test results to wholesalers that indicated nearly all major disposable vape brands contain illegal levels of e-liquid (4). These results were prefaced by a letter from Fredrik Svensson, the managing director of British American Tobacco, who said it commissioned independently accredit laboratory tests on the Elf Bar 600, Lost Mary, Found Mary, IVG Bar, Klik Klak, SKE Crystal, Smok Mbar Pro and Solo disposable vapes. All of those brands were allegedly found to have illegal levels of e-liquid.

The letter urged trading partners to take appropriate steps to ensure they weren’t supplying non-compliant products and to review the supply of any products that the testing indicated do not comply with TRPR and TPD regulations. These results were shared with the UK regulatory body, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Authority (MHRA).

The response from disposable vape wholesalers was that the effort to ‘clean up’ the market was welcome, but still challenged the claims made. These wholesalers stated they plan to wait on independent testing and regulatory guidance before taking any action, and implied that BAT’s actions were likely to increase BAT’s share of the vaping market.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT FOR MANUFACTURERS TO ADHERE TO THE TRPR REGULATIONS?

You only need to look at the state of vaping in the United States to understand what happens when manufacturers don’t have regulations to adhere to. From the marketing of vape products to children still in school, to the instances of EVALI or ‘E-Cigarette and Vaping Associated Lung Injury’ that have only occurred in vapers who have used vitamin E acetate in their vape juice (which is used to add the psychoactive component of the cannabis plant, THC.)

The complete lack of regulation in the US market made it the Wild West of vaping, which has now been over-corrected; the FDA have banned all flavoured E-Cigs aside from tobacco flavours (5). This is a bit of a shame but, unlike the UK, the authorities in the United States still do not recognise E-Cigarettes as smoking cessation device!

In comparison, the UK and EU markets appear to recognise the value of E-Cigarettes as a smoking cessation device, with Public Health England recommending that they should be available on the NHS to help reduce smoking rates, though this isn’t the case yet. This is in part due to the high level of regulations that make E-Cigarettes in the UK a cut above E-Cigs elsewhere.

The safety of the product is paramount, then there are the marketing aspects that have many people concerned about youth taking up vaping. In the US, vape manufacturer Juul have been banned from selling their products due to their catalogued marketing methods that targeted pupils in middle schools, a practice that is beyond the pale! (This ban is on administrative hold while they review Juul’s marketing application again) (6).

HOW DO DISPOSABLE VAPES FAIL TO PROTECT THE YOUTH?

So how does the breaking the maximum tank size rule impact the safety of the product, and specifically the younger people that may get their hands on a vape illegally?

The number one concern is developing a nicotine addiction. Teens are going to push the boundaries and are likely to try things their parents would rather they didn’t, so it makes perfect sense to limit the amount of nicotine in devices they may get their hands on. A limit on the amount of e-liquid in disposable vapes means they are less likely to develop an addiction, but also increases the frequency of illegal transactions that need to be carried out in order to keep them vaping: that means whoever is illegally selling disposable vapes is more likely to get caught which we can all agree is a positive thing!

Secondly, there is the issue of dosing and awareness of your nicotine consumption. If you buy a product that says it contains 2ml when it is actually closer to 3ml or even 4ml, you could be almost doubling your nicotine intake without being aware of it! This is unlikely to lead to any serious overdosing on nicotine for an adult, but for teens who still have a way to grow, their body mass is normally much lower than an adult, which means less nicotine can affect them more severely.

2024 UPDATE - ARE DISPOSABLE VAPES BEING BANNED UK?

It was announced on the 28th January 2024 that disposable vapes are being banned in the UK (7). This is part of government plans to tackle the rise in youth vaping. Exactly when this disposable vape ban will come in to force is not yet known, but users of disposables will need to look elsewhere to get their nicotine - so consider SMOKO E-Cigarettes!

BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO LEADS THE CHARGE AGAINST ILLEGAL VAPES - CONCLUSION

The UK recognises the value of E-Cigarettes and vapes as smoking cessation devices, something that is not matched yet in other countries, but this is potentially down to the level of safety and regulation implemented here in the UK that ensures a high quality, safe product.

The headlines out of America have many countries reluctant to accept the value of E-Cigarettes when they are held to a high standard, indicating harm from ‘vaping’ that is actually down to the addition of illegal substances that require vitamin E acetate for the mixture. All instances of EVALI have had vitamin E acetate in the lung fluid samples, yet this is left out of the headline and only occasionally included in the body of text!

What is important is that these regulations are adhered to in order to maintain the safety of the consumer. If these disposable vape brands have little care over breaking the maximum tank size rule, what other rules are they choosing to ignore?

If you are looking to quit smoking, or currently use a disposable vape, consider switching to SMOKO! Our liquids are made in the UK and tested with our hardware by the MHRA so you know you are getting a product held to the high standards of the TRPR and TPD regulations.

Our devices use rechargeable batteries and you can recycle your empty refills with us for free – this works out to be better for you financially and is better for the environment than these disposable vapes that are most likely to end up in landfill!

So, what are you waiting for? Make the switch with SMOKO today!

*2023 Update - The Government has announced it's plan for a 'Swap to Stop' scheme, planning to distribute 1 million free E-Cigarette starter kits!

REFERENCES

(1) E-Cigarettes: regulations for consumer products

(2) Flavoring-related Lung Disease

(3) 2022 Survey shows youth e-cigarette epidemic remains a serious health threat

(4) BAT Testing Data Claims Major Disposable Vaping Brands Contain Illegal Levels of E-liquid

(5) FDA finalizes enforcement policy on unauthorized flavored cartridge-based e-cigarettes that appeal to children, including fruit and mint

(6) Juul ban put on hold as FDA starts additional review

(7) The Education Hub: Disposable vape ban and what it means for young people

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Written by Dan Overgage

Dan Overgage – is a former smoker of 10 years until he became a client of SMOKO E-Cigarettes.  Dan started working with SMOKO 5 years ago after successfully quitting using our e-cigarettes and works across our Customer Service and heads up our content creation and research with a strong focus on all things quitting smoking.  During his tenure with SMOKO, Dan has written countless blogs and consults with countless clients every day to help them to stay smoke-free.