Published 29th May 2024
Well, that was unexpected! After months of concern that a hastily written bill was about to eliminate vaping as we know it, the Tobacco and Vapes Bill which could have banned vape flavours has been dropped in the furore around an unexpectedly early election.
Gone but not forgotten? With both main parties supporting the bill, it is likely to rear its head again. There are also other impacts to be considered, including the Conservative’s plan to impose punitive taxes on vaping.
In the long run, though, is a general election good or bad for vaping? Here’s three things to consider…
New faces, less knowledge
For all of the confusion and misinformation around vaping, there is a small subset of MPs with a deep understanding of the issues. These MPs realise that, while we need to discourage young people from vaping, it’s important to ensure that it remains a more attractive option than smoking. They have been crucial both in parliamentary committees and for tabling sensible amendments.
There’s a good chance that at least some of these MPs will not return to parliament, and will be replaced with new MPs who won’t have any pre-existing understanding of the issues around vaping. It takes time to understand these issues, especially when there are many other problems for a new government to get its head around. If new legislation is brought in quickly, the loss of expertise could mean that legislation is not well put together.
Less rushed legislation
Existing expertise or not, it is clear that much of the current legislation has been rushed through by a government and Prime Minister desperate to win some votes and leave behind some sort of legacy.
For example, the government has admitted it didn’t read the responses to its own consultation on the Tobacco and Vape bill, instead using AI to analyse keywords.
It’s also clear that when putting together the vape levy, the government didn’t understand the science around nicotine inhalation (i.e. that low-nicotine users use twice as much e-liquid as high-nicotine users). Nor did it fully take into account the intricacies of shortfills, longfills, flavour concentrates and nicotine shots.
With the urgency and desperation of a dying government gone, I hope it’s back to business as usual, due process reasserts itself and the legislation will be properly considered. That also might lead to:
A more sensible tax regime?
There’s been widespread opposition to the proposed tiered vape juice levy, with scientists pointing out that it will lead to an increase in harm. The huge tax will also vastly decrease the price differential between vaping and smoking, making nonsense of the government’s own assertion that vaping is at least 95% less harmful than smoking.
However, I have been impressed with the diligence in which HMRC has been researching the issues, and I think it is highly likely that this will result in some sensible recommendations.
If, as seems likely, there is a change of government, there is an increased possibility that a new regime will listen to the problems created by the previous government, and create a tax regime which is more proportionate and less friendly to Big Tobacco.
What’s happening with the disposable vape ban?
The planned UK-wide ban on disposable vapes has been temporarily suspended while parliament is in pre-election recess. However, it is likely to be reintroduced when parliament resumes after the election.
Keep calm and advocate on
In my 16 years in the vape industry, I’ve seen multiple times what looked like the end of the road for vaping. Ironically, it was only because Labour lost power in 2012 that vaping wasn’t banned years ago - now a Conservative election loss could mean that new vape legislation is more balanced.
As always, though, it’s an uphill battle to ensure that vaping remains a viable choice for people who want or need to use nicotine but don’t want to consume it in the most harmful way possible. Complacency as much as misinformation could kill vaping, so it’s key to stay engaged and make the case for tobacco harm reduction.