Retailers caught breaking the upcoming smoking ban are to face on-the-spot fines and risk imprisonment, as legislation to phase out tobacco sales for future generations is revealed. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill is being introduced in parliament today, and if passed unamended will be a landmark ruling, preventing children turning 15 this year or younger from ever being able to legally buy tobacco.
Prime minister Rishi Sunak reinforced that the government is delivering on its “commitment to create a smoke-free generation and stop our kids from getting hooked on harmful cigarettes and other nicotine products”.
Enforcement officers’ powers will also be strengthened with ‘on-the-spot’ fines of £100 to uphold new laws and clamp down on underage sales of tobacco and vaping products. This builds on the maximum £2,500 fines that local authorities can already impose.
New powers are to be granted in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill to restrict vape flavours and packaging that is intentionally marketed at children. It will allow the government to change how vapes are displayed in shops, moving them out of sight of children and away from products that appeal to them, like sweets.
The Bill is separate to the ban on disposable vapes, announced earlier this year, which comes into force on 1 April 2025. Its ‘transition period of ‘at least six months’ indicates the time period stores and wholesalers are expected to begin running down stock levels and educating customers on alternative products.
Industry reactions
Andrej Kuttruf, CEO of Evapo, said it is “crucial” that the new measures in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill do not hinder adults’ access to tobacco alternatives, with flavours looking to be restricted.
“Our survey clearly shows that a vast majority of vapers rely on a variety of flavours to remain smoke-free. We urge policymakers to consider these insights as they debate the upcoming Tobacco and Vapes Bill and to incorporate Public Health England’s view that vaping is 95% less harmful than tobacco. Evapo will continue to call for a common-sense, evidence-based licensing regime that will protect children, help smokers quit, and stop the criminals, without compromising the progress and health benefits experienced by adult smokers who have chosen vaping as a pathway to quit smoking. Evapo remains dedicated to contributing positively to the community’s well-being and to the global movement towards a smoke-free future.”
Risk of regulatory overkill
IBVTA chairman Marcus Saxton said there is a danger that multiple legislative actions being taken to reduce youth vaping may result in “regulatory overkill” and hamper vaping as a quit aid for smoking. “This can only be considered successful in the context of continuing the decline in adult smoking rates that has accompanied the growth of the UK’s vape sector,” he said.
“Excessive restrictions on the types of products that our members can provide may reduce the products’ appeal, but even worse, may contribute to continued misperceptions about the harm of vaping relative to tobacco smoking. It is vital that more smokers understand that switching to vaping is of much lower harm and can help them to quit smoking for good.”
Conservative councillor Richard Clewer, of Wiltshire County Council, said the “landmark legislation” brings smoking rates among young people down further, while Lambeth Labour councillor Jim Dickson, also part of the London Tobacco Alliance, said the Bill is “critical”.
Dickson continued: “We in local government can give our guarantee that we’ll do all we can to help the government deliver the objective we all share of a smoke-free society.”
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