Time to Get Tough on Retailers Selling Vapes to Children
Asli Ertonguc, Area Director Western Europe for BAT
This content was paid for by BAT UK, and produced in partnership with the City PM Commercial department.
The UK has set its sights on becoming ‘smoke-free’ by 2030. This is a bold and
commendable ambition, and one which BAT UK supports. Yet, a lack of action
around underage vaping and an increase of illicit vapes has diminished trust in the
role of vaping at a precarious moment in Britain’s smoke-free journey.
There is widespread consensus that vaping has encouraged millions of smokers to
switch. The influential Cochrane Review of 78 studies, examining 22,000
participants, found that nicotine vapes led to higher levels of switching than
traditional nicotine replacement therapies, such as patches and chewing gums.
But herein lies the salutary story of unintended consequences. A product that is
providing an alternative for adult smokers now needs to be further safeguarded from
the underaged.
Let us be clear: the underaged should not vape.
While the new Tobacco & Vapes Bill – currently before Parliament – is making strides
towards this ambition, it is destined to come up far short unless existing enforcement
measures are significantly strengthened. This is a once in a generation opportunity
to get the UK’s smoke-free ambitions back on track and it falls to MPs to make sure
the small details of the bill pack a big enough punch.
The Tobacco & Vapes Bill introduces a retail licensing scheme which is a step in the
right direction and means vapes will only be sold by someone with a licence. But
whilst this step is essential, the vape licence will be little more than paper laws if not
complemented by robust enforcement. Weak penalties will not deter unscrupulous
retailers.
Consider the proposed £200 on-the-spot fine for retailers caught selling vapes to
underage customers which is currently being considered by lawmakers.
New independent research commissioned by BAT UK in December shows that two
thirds of the country think that a £200 fine is too lenient, with the highest support for
penalties of up to £1,000. The public has the right idea.
Retailers would only need to sell a small-scale number of illicit vapes to a handful of
children to exceed the £200 fine which opportunistic vendors may simply deem as
the cost of doing quick and easy business.
The same level of fines will also apply for those retailers who stock and sell single-
use vapes after they are banned on 1st June. Yet again, a worrying lack of
meaningful deterrent provides unscrupulous retailers with little reason to comply.
Equally concerning is the absence of clear thresholds for punishing repeat offenders.
Under current proposals, there is no specified limit to how many times a retailer can
be fined before losing their retail license. Public sentiment is overwhelmingly in
favour of harsher consequences: two thirds support permanently revoking licenses
after three violations, i.e., three strikes and you’re out. Anything less sends the
wrong message and undermines trust in the system.
Timing is another critical issue. While the introduction of a retail licensing scheme is
a positive development, delays in implementing it risk eroding public confidence and
currently there is no indication of an implementation timeline. A majority of the public
however want the scheme introduced within the next three months, with just 1%
willing to wait longer than two years.
Vaping has already transformed the public health landscape in the country, enabling
millions of smokers to transition from cigarettes to smoke-free alternatives. Indeed,
ASH data shows more than half of current vapers in the UK are former smokers.
Yet with just six years remaining to reach smoke-free status and still over six million
smokers there is no room for error. Meanwhile, the rise of underage vaping and illicit
vapes has rightly prompted calls from the public for stricter controls over who can
sell vapes, and stronger punishments for those that sell them to underage children.
Without these additional measures, this new legislation risks being little more than a
missed opportunity. The stakes are too high to settle for half measures.