Speaking at the UKVIA Forum about the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, Dan Marchant, co-owner of Vape Club, said there needs to be regular test purchasing for every retailer and regular stock inspections for every retailer, funded by a licence fee, to tackle the illicit trade.
“Reactive enforcement has clearly failed. Right now, there is not a high likelihood of being caught,” he said.
“The problem is none of these regulatory moves are going to actually tackle the issues with illicit products. It won’t make it more illegal. It won’t stop the rogue retailers who are happily breaking the law, and it won’t stop them making a huge amount of money out of doing so. I believe it’s time for us to stop blaming the products, and start blaming the people who are sending them to children. It’s time for enforcement.”
Marchant praised the Labour government for considering a licensing scheme in the Bill, but stressed how important it is to ensure it is “well thought out, effective and can achieve its goals”.
He urged ministers to engage with the vape industry to work together to find the most effective solution. “A well thought-through scheme can and would do wonders reinforcement, but the poorly structured scheme that simply mimics the current alcohol licensing system will not achieve this,” he added.
Coventry retailer and founder of C-Talk, Paul Cheema, said he had taken matters into his own hands to address the problem of illicit trade, carrying out his own test purchases. “We then attended a licensing meeting, and we managed to get a store closed down. And now we’re going for more,” he said.
He added that in the past six months, he has lost nearly £9,000 in sales a month in two stores due to illicit traders. “If we don’t solve this problem, the backbone of communities will go, these community stores will disappear.”
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