The Local Vape Action pilot scheme has launched in Tunbridge Wells, with the project intended to be a model for further national action to help retailers combat the illicit vape trade and underage sales.

Under the pilot, existing teams Kent County Council and local Trading Standards will guide and educate retailers on regulations surrounding the vape trade, including advising on packaging, illicit products, and best practices such as communications with wholesalers and keeping refusal logs for denied sales. The IBVTA says this model is borrowed from the Community Alcohol Partnership scheme, launched in 2007.

“Teams from Kent Trading Standards, public health, police, wells, for a council, will work alongside a program of engagement with local businesses. They’ll support them in being on top of the regulations to address some of those issues, including underage sales,” said Gillian Golden, chief executive of the Independent British Vape Trade Association.

“We believe this model for this pilot will act as a model for the rest of the country, so following a full independent review and evaluation of this first pilot, we’re going to take those learnings to support a national model,” she added.

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Successful model

According to Terry Hughes, community safety manager at Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, the idea for the pilot as well as the choice of Tunbridge Wells for its location were inspired by the success of a vape awareness week held in the town in June last year.

As part of the week-long event, the local council and police force set out a street-facing stall in the town’s shopping centre and advertised the risks associated. During that week, Kent County Council’s vape team visited four stores in the town seized 2,000 illegal vapes, including 1,800 from one shop, which one member of Kent County Council’s vape team described as “high end illegal items worth £10-£15 each.”

A repeat of the event is planned for October half-term after the success of last year’s scheme, with the council exploring new locations for its stall.

Hughes highlighted underage sales and non-compliant packaging as issues particularly affecting Tunbridge Wells, saying the town has “five schools that pour out into the town centre at half past three.” He added one street “has 5,000 children hanging around the town centre enjoying themselves, so I think the pilot is important because vapes can be attractive to young people even when they’re complying.”

 IBVTA’s Golden said: “Since Covid we’ve seen a dramatic shift in the market. We’ve seen to an unacceptable level of youth experimentation, and we’ve seen a growth in the illicit market.”

The LVA scheme does not have specific additional plans surrounding the impending introduction of a ban on disposable vapes but will focus primarily on underage vaping and the community effects of both the legitimate and illicit trade, organisers told Better Retailing.

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