A Government Consultation on Vaping will run until 11:59 pm on Wednesday 6 December 2023. Without input from active vapers, the potential for harsh, anti-vaping laws will be far more likely moving forward. We need action now to secure a safer future for vaping, so we ask you to please fill out the questionnaire and urge other vape users to do the same.
Are you a fiend for Pineapple flavours or a sucker for a Sour Raspberry? With the current direction of discourse, it’s highly probable all flavours aside from Tobacco will be banned. This comes alongside the scrutiny over disposable vapes and a call for their outright ban. This consultation is your final hurrah and a chance to make your voice heard. We need as many vapers to participate as possible to save vaping as we know it today.
The purpose of the consultation is to assess the court of public opinion and discourse around vaping, before the motives being presented to the Government are passed and we are left in a highly restricted landscape.
Proposed laws are not in your best interest and this is the primary issue with the current echochamber of negative opinions held by users who are not aware or understanding of vapes and their importance, which will oversaturate and dictate the consultation process.
It’s imperative that we counteract the anti-vaping responses from those who have never so much as picked up a vape. We must create a realistic gauge on our industry, which is why your experience and input is invaluable.
If you feel you’ve read enough and choose not to read further, we implore you to complete the questionnaire and urge your family and friends to join in. Yes, this is that important.
Vape scrutiny is not new of course, this follows the international outcry surrounding the influx of underage vape use. While we are able to acknowledge the extreme numbers demonstrated by the latest ASH Report, the logical solution is not banning the most effective smoking cessation method of this generation.
Although we have clear regulations outlawing the sale of vape products to under 18s - including proxy purchases - the predominant issue we face is one of regulation and enforcement.
If we take a look at the Psychoactive Substances Act of 2016, a 2018 review deemed most of the main aims of the PSA as achieved, although this was amended/added to just this year to include a growing Nitrous Oxide misuse. This is a perfect example of how although the initial banned items are curbed, there becomes a space to be filled by a more harmful alternative.
We pride ourselves on being as vigilant as possible regarding the sale of vapes to under 18s, alongside our priority of providing adults with safe and effective smoking cessation methods using our age verification process, ensuring all advertising and packaging are do not appeal to underage users, as well as making sure all products and media clearly display statutory warnings and age restrictions.
Even with all this, further action is needed within rogue traders and unofficial sources as they are often the overriding factor responsible for the majority of illicit vape sales. It’s common sense to assume that a ban on vapes as a whole - especially disposables - will only create a thriving black market while removing a tried and tested solution towards overall smoking cessation.
Top of the agenda are potential flavour bans. Bright, sweet flavour restrictions may be the first call to cull due to underage appeal, but this is a complete oversight of the impact vape flavours have as an essential aid in helping smokers quit and transition into vaping as a less harmful alternative.
The next aspect of vape culture under fire is POS displays and regulations around the way vapes are displayed in traditional street-side business settings - going as far as to remove their visibility entirely. This fuels concern for vapes as a harmful product and backs the false belief that vaping is as harmful as smoking.
Packaging and presentation is heavily under fire, as well as POS displays. Every customer facing aspect of vape devices are deemed too child-friendly. Mirroring the regulations on traditional tobacco products, vape liquids and devices may adopt the same plain packaging standard which will make it harder for adults to identify and select their preferred products, as well as increasing ease for counterfeit products.
Disposable bans have been looming, with the government's aim to restrict vapes as much as possible, despite being an accessible and convenient alternative to traditional smoking. Bans on disposables will almost definitely lead to a black market boom of illicit vapes.
An additional addendum to proposed legislation is the inclusion of non-nicotine vapes falling under the same standards for sale as nicotine-containing products, aligning with common, responsible retail practices.
In the same vein as the very much legal and readily available cigarettes never facing an outright ban, it only makes sense to apply likewise application of provisions to vapes. Calls for extra taxes on vapes in line with cigarette standard taxation come alongside propositions to amend disposable quantities by allowing up to 10ml of e-liquid volume, in theory also creating a decline in electronic pollution.
Government officials are to enforce new legislation that would make it an offence to sell any tobacco products to those born after January 1st 2009. Despite New Zealand’s highly successful smoking cessation rates following the same law implication, there are concerns about the rise of an underground economy for tobacco not unlike a black vape market.
For the greater good of vaping as a whole, as many actual vapers as possible need to respond to the consultation to ensure authentic and realistic representation.
The Government consultation on vaping is available to the general public for vapers to have their say until 11:59 pm on Wednesday 6 December 2023. Responses are imperative in order to avoid potential harsh anti-vaping laws if vapers do not act today.
The most effective way to advocate for the community is to ensure you have your say in the consultation. All the above points will be covered and you will have the opportunity to make your voice heard. Sharing your views is vital to the future of vaping, and vaping as we know it today.
For those who have the time and drive to aid their community, getting in touch with your local MP is a proactive way to have your say. As your local representative, it’s their responsibility to speak in parliament on your behalf. Not sure who your local representative is? Click here to find out: https://members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP
This consultation is a sure fire way to ensure your voice is heard. The future of vaping is under threat. By filling out this questionnaire, we will be more likely to generate an unbiased response in which to base future regulation on that accurately represents the wants and needs of all.
https://consultations.dhsc.gov.uk/en/65201ed1f3410a69990d3081
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