The Department of Health and Social Care recently published a new consultation on measure to be taken to tackle the current issues that are present with under-18s smoking and/or vaping.
This was published after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak took to the stage at the Tory Conference to deliver a speech which laid out the Government’s plans to commit to getting England to smokefree status as a country by eliminating the chance of a new generation of smokers from forming.
We have discussed this in detail in a separate piece in our series of blogs about these announcements and what they could spell for the future.
Many have hailed the Prime Minister’s firm stance on tackling the issues by taking a head on approach and introducing plans to not only change the legal age for which tobacco products can be bought but to also consider introducing the restriction of supply and sale of Disposable Vapes & vape flavours as well.
But not everybody is on side with these proposals and have had their say on the proposals that have been put forward by the PM.
Statements from two separate pro vaping groups have shown their opposition to these proposals, with the groups deeming them a threat to adult vapers and urging vapers to take action and have their say in the now open consultation period.
What The New Nicotine Alliance Has Said
To start, we will take a quote from the NNA’s website which describes who they are;
“The NNA developed from a group of individuals who - by themselves and through their links with leading smoking and tobacco researchers and policy analysts – have contributed in the last two years to improving individual, organisational and public understanding of what is known as tobacco harm reduction”.
The NNA created a press release in the wake of the new regulations that were announced by the Prime Minister, and they took a firm stance against these potential new regulations on vaping which were suggested by Rishi Sunak.
Labelling them a “threat to consumers of safer nicotine products” and they urged people to have their say in the ongoing consultation period that has been launched following on from the statement.
This was not an official response and they have said that they will be publishing one in due course, but this was more focused to urge people to have their say.
What The World Vapers Alliance Has Said
Below is a quote from the World Vapers Alliance (WVA) to explain who they are and what they do;
“The World Vapers’ Alliance (WVA) amplifies the voices of vapers worldwide and empowers them to make a difference in their communities. Our members are vapers associations and individual vapers from all over the world. More information can be found on www.worldvapersalliance.com”
The paper begins explaining what the Government has said, before going full steam ahead into their feelings against these proposals.
They believe that this legislation proposal would be a step backwards on the UK’s path to having a smoke free future and could jeopardise the successful smoking cessation efforts made by millions of citizens in the recent past.
They also believe that these measures would represent a departure from the UK’s open approach towards alternative nicotine products.
The whole driving force behind WVA getting involved is to provide extensive scientific research on the three key measures within the proposals as well as drafting this paper to show the possible consequences of the proposed changes - they want to provide as much scientific evidence as possible to support the Government’s decision-making.
Why Are These Proposals Considered Threats?
With the proposals being put forward, it was the first big step in some time that the Government have taken towards creating a smoke free country by ‘making smoking obsolete’ by the year 2030.
And the proposals have likely come as a shock to many associated with the vaping industry with the potential banning of sale of not only Disposable Vapes but also restricting vape flavours to make them less appealing to youths.
Vape flavours act as a crucial tool for helping many people stay off cigarettes, reducing the temptation to smoke again.
It’s understandable for these restrictions to be looked at as threats, especially to adult vapers who may be relying on these things to continue their abstinence from smoking.
What Could Happen If the Changes Come in to Effect
There’s speculation on what could happen if these changes do come into effect, and we’re going to explore the possibilities of what might happen and how these changes could be deemed a threat to adult vapers as well as the vaping industry.
Restricting Vape Flavours
The UK Government proposed three different ways how they could restrict vaping flavours, which are;
- Limiting how they are described and only using a list of generic flavour names.
- Limiting the ingredients used in the creation of vape flavours, making certain flavours impossible to create due to essential flavourings being banned.
- Limiting the characterising flavours of vapes, effectively leaving tobacco as the only available flavour option available.
Vape flavours do play quite a crucial role in helping people not only quit smoking and make the transition to e-cigarettes easier, but to also continue with their use of e-cigarettes and staying off cigarettes.
You can understand why bringing this proposal into reality would be considered a threat from some perspectives, and understandable why the NNA & WVA have taken this stance.
Restricting The Supply and Sale of Disposable Vapes
As mentioned, Disposable Vapes do have some advantages by offering people a convenient way to vape without needing to spend money on a starter kit and then going through the rigmarole of refilling their vape etc…
However, solely using Disposables to vape is not a cost-effective way to vape, with the average cost of a Disposable being around £5 a device and can only last for one day. If this applies to you, you’re going to spending £35 if not more a week just on Disposable Vapes. Not only that, but the environmental impact of single-use vapes is staggering.
Using a refillable vape device is much more cost effective, and it’s not that much hassle either as most are user friendly and simple to use. And if you didn’t already know, we have just launched our newest range of 10ml nicotine salt vape juices which are inspired by the popular flavours seen in Disposable Vapes.
Bar Salts are available for just £2.50 a bottle, which is less than half the price of a Disposable Vape and you get five times the amount of e liquid compared to what is in a Disposable.
