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Tag: UK

  • Imperial Warning Landlords to Police Tenants Selling Illicit Products

    Imperial Warning Landlords to Police Tenants Selling Illicit Products

    Imperial Brands warned commercial landlords across the UK that they could face criminal prosecution if they continue to collect rent from retail tenants selling counterfeit or illicit tobacco products. The company said it has written to landlords of multiple premises where investigations identified illegal tobacco sales despite repeated enforcement action, formally notifying them of the potential legal consequences if the activity continues.

    Imperial said landlords who knowingly benefit from illegal trade could face prosecution under the UK’s Proceeds of Crime Act, in addition to penalties associated with the sale of counterfeit goods, which can carry prison sentences of up to 10 years and unlimited fines. The company cited recent case law that it says confirms landlords may be held liable if they continue accepting rent from premises involved in illicit trade.

    Imperial is urging landlords to enforce lease provisions prohibiting illegal activity, cooperate with enforcement authorities, and evict non-compliant tenants where necessary. Deirdre Healy, Head of Corporate and Legal Affairs at Imperial Brands UK, said landlords “cannot turn a blind eye” to illicit tobacco sales, adding that the company is prepared to pursue legal remedies, including injunctions and support for criminal investigations, against landlords who fail to act.

  • UK Vaping Duty Expected to Generate £565M by 2030

    UK Vaping Duty Expected to Generate £565M by 2030

    The UK will introduce its new Vaping Products Duty (VPD) on October 1, applying to all vaping liquids, including nicotine-free products. The measure is expected to significantly boost government revenue, with vaping duty receipts projected to rise from £135 million in fiscal 2026/27 to £565 million by 2030/31.

    Under the new rules, travelers aged 17 and older entering Great Britain will be allowed to bring in up to 50ml of vaping liquid duty-free for personal use. Anyone carrying more than 50ml must declare the products and pay duty on the entire quantity, not just the excess amount.

    Northern Ireland will operate under different arrangements due to its access to the EU goods market. Travelers arriving directly from EU countries may continue bringing unlimited quantities of vaping liquid for personal use without paying duty, while arrivals from non-EU countries remain subject to existing personal goods allowances.

    The new duty and traveler limits are expected to affect duty-free retailers serving UK-bound passengers, potentially reducing purchase volumes and prompting adjustments to product assortments. HMRC has urged retailers and stakeholders to provide clear passenger guidance to minimize border non-compliance.

  • UK Could Shut Down Stores Selling Illicit Products for a Year

    The UK government announced plans today (June 10) to extend closure orders for businesses linked to criminal activity, including retailers selling illegal tobacco and vaping products, following a series of BBC investigations into organized crime on British high streets. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said that under the proposed changes, authorities in England and Wales would be able to shut offending premises for up to 12 months, double the current maximum closure period of six months. The Home Office said the longer closures would give enforcement agencies more time to gather evidence, pursue prosecutions and prevent rogue operators from quickly reopening.

    The move has been welcomed by Trading Standards officials and industry observers who have argued that existing powers are insufficient to tackle persistent illegal tobacco and vape sales.

    “This is a welcome step from the government,” said Dr Marina Murphy, senior director of scientific affairs at Haypp. “Too often, we hear of corner shops or mini-marts caught by the authorities selling illicit products simply carrying on with their illegal activities immediately afterwards. The penalty for the illegal activity was simply not a deterrent. This has been a source of frustration for both enforcement authorities and responsible retailers. The potential to issue a 12-month closure order on a business is a much more significant penalty and will make those engaged in illegal behavior think twice.”

    The announcement follows reports linking some convenience stores, vape shops and barbers to illicit cigarette sales, drug trafficking, money laundering and illegal working. The government said the extended closure powers will form part of a broader crackdown on organized crime in retail settings, alongside a newly announced £30 million High Street Crime Unit. The legislation is expected to be introduced later this year and come into force in early 2027.

  • Scientist reveals nail salons are worse than “second-hand vaping”

    Scientist reveals nail salons are worse than “second-hand vaping”

    Public confusion should not drive vape policy, says Dr Marina Murphy

    As the UK government considers extending smoke-free legislation to create new vape-free areas in England, experts are warning that vaping policy must be based on evidence—not public misunderstanding.

    Proposals to restrict vaping in areas such as playgrounds, school grounds and outside hospitals are intended to protect the public from second-hand exposure. However, the scientific evidence does not support treating vaping like smoking.

    Here, Dr. Marina Murphy, Director of Scientific Affairs at Northerner, sets out the current scientific understanding of “second-hand vaping” and highlights the need for policy to be based on evidence.

    Is there such a thing as second-hand vapour?

    While often described as “second-hand vapour,” passive exposure to vape aerosol is not comparable to second-hand smoke. Vapes do not contain tobacco, involve no combustion, and produce no side-stream smoke, which is the smoke produced when a cigarette is not being actively smoked, the primary source of harmful passive smoking exposure. 

    UK health authorities, including the NHS and Cancer Research UK, state there is no good evidence that passive vaping is harmful to bystanders.

    What do the public think about second-hand vaping?

    New research commissioned by Northerner highlights widespread public misunderstanding about vaping and health risks. The survey found that 43% of respondents believe exposure to vape aerosol is as harmful as exposure to cigarette smoke, despite this not being supported by the evidence. Only 32% correctly identified the statement as false, while 25% were unsure.

    Almost half (46%) also incorrectly believe vaping involves exposure to more chemicals than smoking. These findings suggest public perceptions are increasingly out of step with the evidence.

    Is secondhand vaping harmful?

    When we talk about public exposure, it’s important to keep the science in perspective. Exhaled vape aerosol generally raises PM₂.₅ levels only slightly above background levels, often in the 1–10 µg/m³ range, and contains no carbon monoxide because there is no combustion. To put this into perspective, many everyday environments generate far higher air-quality impacts:

    • Frying or gas cooking can produce particulate matter₂.₅ peaks above 500 µg/m³
    • Nail salons and beauty products can push particulate levels above 200 µg/m³
    • Urban roadside pollution often ranges 10–50 µg/m³

    Does vaping expose users to more chemicals than smoking?

    No. Cigarette smoke contains around 7,000 chemicals, many of them toxic or carcinogenic. Vape aerosol contains significantly fewer harmful substances and is widely recognised as substantially less harmful than smoking. Claims that vaping exposes users to more chemicals than cigarettes are simply false.

    Should vaping be banned outdoors?

    There is no clear evidence-based justification for broad outdoor vaping bans. Vaping is widely recognised as a lower-risk alternative to smoking and remains one of the most effective tools available to help adults quit cigarettes. Treating vaping like smoking risks sending the wrong message to smokers. If policymakers blur the distinction between the two, they risk reinforcing misinformation, discouraging switching, and undermining tobacco harm reduction. The evidence is clear: vaping is not smoking, and regulating it as though it were is neither scientific nor proportionate.

  • Crowned Heads Entering U.K. Market

    Crowned Heads Entering U.K. Market

    Crowned Heads is set to enter the U.K. market for the first time through a new distribution agreement with Barkers of Harrogate, according to Halfwheel. The Nashville-based cigar company has not yet begun shipments or confirmed a retail launch timeline, but the partnership marks a strategic expansion into a key international market. Barkers, an established distributor representing brands such as Gurkha and Macanudo, will handle distribution, aligning with Crowned Heads’ push to grow its global footprint in the premium cigar segment.

  • A Generation Apart

    A Generation Apart

    The UK’s Gamble on a Tobacco-Free Future

    UK legislators believe splitting current smokers and future potential smokers will allow its generational ban to avoid many of the pitfalls that have plagued schemes aimed at achieving the same ends found elsewhere in the world.

    This is the first major market to enact such a widespread ban.

    The ban prohibits younger consumers from ever taking up use of tobacco products (including heated tobacco) while still permitting non-tobacco nicotine products such as electronic nicotine devices (ENDs) and nicotine pouches to be available for them. Adult consumers will be unaffected by the ban, which will only apply to those born on or after 1st January, 2009. Such an approach, incidentally, does not affect the one group of people that could demonstrate anger over the decision by maybe voting against the government in the upcoming elections.

    Such divisions in product access will prevent the UK from experiencing the rise in black market activity seen in countries that have taken different approaches, the UK government hopes. It is worth noting that the UK already has a fairly substantial black market brought about by the attempted avoidance of already high duties on tobacco.

    But approaches taken by other countries have resulted in worse outcomes. For example, Australia has put strict limits on vaping products while significantly increasing taxes on conventional tobacco products, leading to enough black-market tobacco appetite to fuel an ongoing low-level conflict between rival suppliers.

    The country is meant to raise taxes on cigarettes again in March plus again in September. The Australian government had previously been adamant that it would not make changes to its tobacco tax plan. However, it recently seemingly grudgingly admitted it would consider such a policy move.

    Australia’s finance minister, Katy Gallagher, said there was no single solution and that the government kept strategies to cut illicit tobacco trade under review – including possibly cutting the excise rate.

    If Australia were to choose to take such a climb down, it would mirror previous broad-stroke policy reversals. Bhutan elected to rescind an initiative to completely ban the sale and production of tobacco products after about a decade. This was due to rampant black-market importation of tobacco products from neighboring countries.

    Australia does not have bordering neighbors. But this has not proven detrimental to smuggling efforts, with a rise in tobacco-related activity resulting in several ongoing conflicts between criminal enterprises that have led to numerous arson attacks, shootings, and other escalations. 

    The issue could be exacerbated by a general lack of alternative products for smokers outside the licensed cessation pathway. Both heated tobacco and pouches are effectively banned in the country, being subject to a prescription, but no products have been approved as therapeutic goods suitable for use as a cessation aid as required to be prescribed.

    Vaping products are not banned in Australia. But the limitations placed on them – in particular, pharmacy-only sales – render them significantly less attractive as an alternative to current smokers.

    This is another issue that the UK is looking to avoid. All such products will remain viable for adult consumers in the UK, while only heated tobacco would be prohibited for those born after the cut-off date, as current legislation stands. This, the UK government argues, will leave vaping products open as a potential cessation tool and less harmful alternative.

    The UK also hopes that increases to enforcement budgets will provide enough of an edge to overcome any potential future increases in illicit tobacco activity. However, the example of Australia suggests that UK plans may not be enough. The government highlighted an additional £30m per year to be committed to enforcement agencies.

    But Australia is reported to have committed an additional AUD $350m (£183.5m) to enforcement over the past two years. Despite this, it has still seen a significant increase in illicit cigarettes. Border authorities reported an increase in conventional cigarette seizures from 606 million in 2019-2020 to 2.5 billion in 2024-2025.

    This, of course, could be said to be an indicator of the money paying off, with significantly more illicit products being taken off the Australian market. However, anecdotal evidence appears to suggest that it is a symptom of even greater imports rather than a higher proportion of products
    being seized.

    One more possible example to contemplate is the Maldives. The Indian Ocean island nation became the first country in the world to successfully enact a generational ban when a ban on tobacco products for anyone born after 1st January, 2007 went into effect in November 2025.

    Thus far, it is too early to assess the impact of the ban’s implementation. Significant issues are unlikely to arise until it can be seen whether much residual demand for tobacco products remains for those impacted by the Maldives generational ban. But it is impressive that the ban even progressed as far as it had. The other attempts that had previously got closest to coming into force – in Malaysia and New Zealand – both failed for non-tobacco control reasons.

    In Malaysia, the ban was withdrawn before it could be passed over concerns it would fall short of future constitutional challenges. In New Zealand, the measure was passed by the New Zealand Labor Party before then being repealed by a conservative coalition that took power in national elections.

    The coalition said it had chosen to repeal the ban as part of its coalition agreement because it wanted to take another approach to protecting public health that required the increased revenue derived from continued legal sales of tobacco products.

    Several Kiwi public health organizations found this argument dubious. Nonetheless, the coalition followed through and made several amendments to the recently passed regulations – including rescinding the generational ban.

    There is still a chance the UK experiences a similar change in direction. The situation is similar to that in New Zealand in that both countries had plans to prohibit the uptake of tobacco products amongst youth, but to leave alternative nicotine products alone. The one key difference – though – is that the generational ban was originally proposed by the UK Conservative Party when it was in government before national elections gave power to the UK Labour Party, which announced its intentions of passing a similar (some would say identical) law.

    That key difference means it is more than likely that the UK generational ban will continue regardless of any possible change in government. Whether it falls to unexpected, continued demand for tobacco products once the ban begins to affect UK consumers now becomes the main question.

    This article was provided by Tamarind Intelligence.

  • UK Passes Tobacco and Vapes Bill to Create ‘Smoke-Free Generation’

    UK Passes Tobacco and Vapes Bill to Create ‘Smoke-Free Generation’

    The UK Parliament has passed the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, introducing a phased ban on cigarette sales to anyone born on or after January 1, 2009, effectively creating a “smoke-free generation.” The legislation also grants ministers new powers to regulate tobacco, vaping, and nicotine products, including controls on flavors, packaging, and marketing.

    The bill expands restrictions on vaping, banning its use in cars carrying children as well as in playgrounds, near schools and at hospitals, while allowing use in certain outdoor and private settings. Smoking and vaping will remain permitted in homes and some outdoor spaces, including hospitality venues.

    Officials described the measure as a major public health intervention aimed at reducing smoking-related harm, while some lawmakers raised concerns about its impact on retailers. Health groups welcomed the legislation and called for additional support for smoking cessation programs, however, critics find the regulation too broad and obtuse.

    “A critically important element of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill is that it gives the government the power to regulate nicotine pouch products,” said Markus Lindblad, head of legal and external affairs at Haypp. “Nicotine pouches do not contain tobacco, nor produce vapor, so they fell outside the scope of existing nicotine product laws. Introducing regulations such as an 18+ age-of-sale and an upper limit of 20mg of nicotine per pouch will help send the message that these products are for adult nicotine users only. Oral nicotine products have enabled Sweden to achieve smoke-free status, and with sensible regulation arising from this Bill, pouches can play a similar role driving down smoking rates in the UK.”

  • Industry Mobilizing to Support UK Vapers

    Industry Mobilizing to Support UK Vapers

    The UK vaping industry is mobilizing to support adult smokers and protect access to vaping amid potential regulatory changes. The UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) will run the ninth annual VApril campaign in April 2026, providing evidence-based guidance, expert advice, and personal success stories to help smokers switch to vaping. The campaign also aims to raise awareness of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill — which would restrict flavors, packaging, and product displays — and to encourage vapers to engage with policymakers.

    Meanwhile, the New Nicotine Alliance has launched the Save Vaping campaign to oppose a proposed public vaping ban, warning it could push former smokers back to cigarettes, create enforcement burdens for businesses, and mislead the public on relative risk. Both campaigns provide resources for vapers to contact MPs, highlight successful quitting stories, and ensure consumers have access to reliable information on vaping as a safer alternative to smoking.

  • UK’s Generational Smoking Ban Moves Closer  

    UK’s Generational Smoking Ban Moves Closer  

    Both Houses of the UK Parliament have backed the Tobacco and Vapes Bill at its third reading, aiming to create a smoke-free generation by preventing anyone born on or after January 1, 2009, from ever purchasing cigarettes, tobacco, herbal smoking products, or cigarette papers. The proposed law also penalizes adults who attempt to buy vaping or nicotine products on behalf of those underage, while granting ministers new powers to regulate flavors, ingredients, and packaging of smoking and vaping products. Health minister Baroness Merron emphasized the legislation’s public health focus, framing the bill as a measure to protect youth from nicotine addiction.

    Industry and political voices have highlighted the need for balanced implementation. Conservative shadow health minister Lord Kamall called for evidence-based regulations that do not unduly burden retailers or restrict adult smokers’ access to products that aid cessation, while warning that permanent restrictions could drive some consumers to black-market sources. Jamie Strachan, operations director at VPZ, a national vaping retailer, echoed the importance of clear standards and strong enforcement, noting that the success of the legislation will rely on regulating high-capacity disposable devices and ensuring responsible retail practices to both protect young people and maintain access to safer alternatives for adults.

  • BAT Facing UK Lawsuit Over North Korea Sanctions

    BAT Facing UK Lawsuit Over North Korea Sanctions

    British American Tobacco is facing a London High Court lawsuit from over 100 current and former shareholders who allege the company failed to properly disclose to markets its breaches of U.S. sanctions related to business in North Korea, Reuters is reporting. The claims follow BAT’s 2023 settlement with U.S. authorities, in which a subsidiary admitted to conspiring to violate sanctions and commit bank fraud by selling tobacco products to North Korea between 2007 and 2017, resulting in a $635 million payment. The lawsuit, filed on February 27, accuses BAT of withholding information about its North Korea operations for over a decade, though the value of the claim and further details have not been disclosed.