The UK’s biggest vape trade body says plans to allow local residents to block new high street vape shops will drive former smokers back to cigarettes
Prime Minister Keir Starmer is being urged to rethink his new ‘Pride in Place’ programme amid fears it will drive up smoking rates and fuel a black market in illegal vaping products.
The UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) says the plans to give local communities unprecedented powers to ‘block gambling and vape shops’ while saving derelict pubs sends the wrong message and will wreck the country’s smokefree ambitions.
UKVIA Director General John Dunne said: “This announcement may make good headlines but we need prioritise sound policy over sound bites when it comes to protecting public health.
“Vaping is the most effective method of helping adult smokers quit, poses only a tiny fraction of the health risks of smoking, yet nearly six-in-ten adults wrongly believe that it is as harmful or more harmful than smoking.”
Dunne said that allowing local residents, who cannot be expected to understand the nuances of tobacco harm reduction the ability to effectively veto applications for vape shops is not the answer.
He added: “Linking vape stores in the ‘unwanted shops’ category with the likes of betting shops and fake barbers, will harm communities by driving up smoking rates. Specialist vape stores provide a much-needed service to their communities by educating smokers on much safer ways of consuming tobacco.
“We agree with the government that there are unsuitable establishments on the high street where vapes should not be sold, such as fast-food establishments, sweet shops, nail bars, taxi offices and hairdressers, and this is where the focus of any clampdown should be.
“This is also why the UKVIA supports a compulsory vape retail licensing scheme to ensure that unsuitable businesses are not allowed so sell vapes and those who do so, operate to the highest possible standards.
“Vape licensing could fund dedicated squads of Trading Standards officers to the tune of more than £50m-a-year with no additional cost to the Exchequer and, if backed by fines of £10,000 fines for those who sell to children or who sell illicit products, rogue retailers would have a huge incentive to remain within the law.
“The real answer is to allow town planners to make planning decisions to make decisions based on facts not emotions, while ensuring that the public have confidence that their local vape retailers are providing a much-needed service to help adult smokers quit while those under 18 have the safeguards they need.”
A UKVIA-commissioned report into the economic impact of vaping showed that the sector contributes significantly to the UK economy and was responsible for a Gross Value Added (GVA) of £401 million in 2021.
Dunne added: “Creating unnecessary barriers to responsible vape retailing risks pushing people back to smoking or into the hands of the illicit market, which is what no one wants.
“We want to work with government, local authorities and communities to restore pride to the high street by ensuring vape shops are run responsibly, transparently and in a way that supports the UK’s smoke-free ambitions.
“But that means adopting a proportionate and evidence-based approach that targets those who flout the law rather than these seriously flawed measures that could damage public health progress by making vaping less accessible to those who need them most.”
