Tag: John Dunne

  • The Highs and Lows

    The Highs and Lows

    John Dunne

    The U.K. has been held up as providing the “gold standard” in proportionate vape regulation.

    By John Dunne

    It is astonishing how much ground the vaping industry has covered since Vapor Voice launched in 2014. Back then, the nascent vape industry offered a tantalizing alternative for smokers looking to quit smoking. Cig-a-like devices were the order of the day, but they often leaked, had a limited range of flavors and were rather underpowered. The main thing is that they were not cigarettes and provided a smoking alternative that really worked. It was unclear how e-cigarettes would evolve, but while many dismissed this as a passing fad, budding vaping entrepreneurs were already working on business plans.

    What was clear from the beginning was that a passionate fanbase of devotees emerged, and they spread the word about this new smoking alternative far and wide with evangelical passion. The relatively unsatisfying flavors from these earliest devices turned out to be a massive boon for the fledgling industry as fans made their own e-liquid with readily available ingredients, resulting in an explosion of new flavors being tested on friends and family members.

    These humble beginnings led to the industry that exists today. Many international brands started with someone experimenting with different flavor combinations created in their kitchens or garden sheds, only to discover that they had stumbled upon a product with enormous commercial potential. Technological advances led to more powerful batteries, larger tanks and more efficient heating systems, which excited the growing army of fans.

    The Vaper Expo U.K.—now one of Europe’s most essential vape events—came to the U.K. in May 2015 and saw thousands of vape fans queueing for hours to be among the first into the arena. The interest in vaping was astonishing, and things began to move very quickly. Former smokers morphed into passionate advocates for this new technology. Expos featured spinoff cloud-chasing contests and performances from talented individuals who found they could make a living by producing intricate patterns from exhaled vapor clouds.

    Specialist vape shops sprung up to meet the demand of former smokers and hobbyist vapers while flavor names from these early days were often exotic and fantastical. Names like “Beach Bum,” “Eye of the Tiger,” “Flaming Hot Tamale,” “Dragon’s Crown,” “Vamp Toes” and “German Chocolate Beefcake” dominated.

    E-liquid came in glass bottles of various colors with pipette droppers, and branding often featured the most complex and colorful designs, which would not have looked out of place in a modern art graduate’s portfolio. Many early adopters abandoned their careers to invest their life savings in producing their own e-liquids. As vaping became more popular and moved from niche to mainstream, politicians took notice, and regulation changed everything.

    The European Union updated its 2001 Tobacco Products Directive to include e-cigarettes in 2014 and, after a two-year grace period, the U.K. began enforcing regulations covering product safety, vapor emissions testing and new limits on tank and bottle sizes and nicotine strength. This saw the demise of many hobbyist e-liquid creators who had supplemented their incomes with home-grown e-liquids they sold locally or online, but it also paved the way for the serious players to grow and flourish.

    The U.K. Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) was formed in 2016 to “support, develop and promote” the vape industry and promote the public health benefits of this reduced-risk alternative to smoking. It was immediately clear that there was a lot of opposition to overcome.

    Just like we have seen in the U.S., the mainstream media in the U.K. found it could generate huge numbers of clicks and views by stirring up a new moral panic around vaping. Scare stories misrepresented already dubious scientific research, and baseless articles linking vaping with cancer, lung disease and heart disease flourished. The press demonized a product that was allowing smokers to quit and quietly ignored the enormous death toll caused by cigarettes.

    I have never been in more demand from national TV, radio and newspapers to speak about vaping. Media interviews can range from productive to utterly frustrating. Some presenters want me on their shows just to shout at me, and others have their minds made up and refuse to listen to reason, but some want a balanced discussion about vaping and its role in harm reduction.

    Emotive subjects, such as environmental concerns and youth access, are staple interview topics, and I am happy to get up at the crack of dawn for the first segment of the morning TV breakfast show or appear live in the studio for a late-night current affairs debate to promote the benefits of the vaping industry.

    The U.K. has been held up as providing the “gold standard” in proportionate vape regulation for the rest of the world to follow. Although not perfect, our regulations have generally offered the right level of public protection while allowing the industry to flourish by offering adult smokers a far less harmful alternative to cigarettes.

    In recent years, that has started to change, with the U.K. poised to ban disposable devices next year on the grounds of environmental and youth access concerns. These concerns are important, but there are better ways to tackle youth vaping. For four years, we have been calling for the government to introduce a vape retail licensing scheme, similar to the way alcohol is licensed, with fines of up to £10,000 ($12,453) per instance for those who sell illegal products or sell to anyone underage. This scheme would fund a national enforcement campaign backed by regular inspections and test purchasing to ensure retailers comply with the law or face losing their license and their ability to trade.

    Vape Club, one of our UKVIA members, has already drafted the framework for such a scheme, yet the government insists it has no plans to introduce such a system. Back in 2016, I could hardly have imagined a future where the vape industry would be proposing more robust and more effective legislation to a government that seems unable or unwilling to do so, yet that is exactly how things turned out.

    We currently have proposed legislation making its way through Parliament that would give the government unprecedented new powers to restrict flavors, point-of-sale displays and packaging. The government accepts that bringing in new restrictions could cause current vapers to resume smoking but, astonishingly, has not conducted a risk assessment to determine the health harms this may bring.

    The evolution of the vape industry in the past decade has brought many challenges and has been far from smooth. The industry started with disposable devices, moved to refillable tank systems, witnessed a recent renaissance in disposables and is moving back to refillable tank systems once again. E-liquid flavors, absolutely vital to help adult smokers quit, will continue to evolve to meet changing consumer demand, but I can’t see a return to the days of “Flaming Hot Tamale,” “Dragon’s Crown” and “Vamp Toes” flavors—and that is not a bad thing.

    We have achieved so much in a decade, and I am convinced we can eventually win over a skeptical media. Until that happens, I will patiently explain why vaping does not cause popcorn lung and how nicotine does not cause cancer.

    I am also heartened to see just how far the vaping industry has come in one decade, and I am intrigued to see what incredible advances will occur between now and 2034.

    John Dunne is the director general of the U.K. Vaping Industry Association.

  • UK Councils Call for Disposable Vape Ban by 2024

    UK Councils Call for Disposable Vape Ban by 2024

    Credit: Iama Sing

    Councils in England and Wales have called on the UK government to ban the sale of single-use vapes by 2024 on both environmental and health grounds.

    The Local Government Association (LGA), which represents councils in England and Wales, said it was crucial a ban came into effect rapidly, as with the European Union proposing a ban in 2026 and France rolling out a ban in December this year, there was a risk that as markets close disposable vapes could flood into the UK, according to Reuters.

    “Disposable vapes are fundamentally flawed in their design and inherently unsustainable products, meaning an outright ban will prove more effective than attempts to recycle more vapes,” David Fothergill, chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board, said.

    The UK Vaping Industry Association defended disposable vapes.

    “Disposables have been around for well over a decade and provide a low-priced accessible product that helps smokers to quit smoking tobacco,” John Dunne, the association’s director general told BBC radio on Saturday.

    The LGA said 1.3 million disposable vapes were thrown away every week. They were a hazard for waste and litter collection and caused fires in bin lorries.

    It said single-use vapes were designed as one unit so batteries cannot be separated from the plastic, making them almost impossible to recycle without going through special treatment.

    The LGA said councils were also concerned about the impact vaping was having on children and young people.

  • Sustainability is Focus of new UKVIA Action Plan

    Sustainability is Focus of new UKVIA Action Plan

    Credit: Vege Fox

    The U.K. Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) has published a comprehensive “Greenprint for Sustainable Vaping” following an industry-wide consultation.

    The development of the green action plan was realized with input from leading players in the waste industry, regulators, the retail sector, vape manufacturers and experts in consumer behavior. It comes as the industry has faced increased scrutiny regarding the environmental impact of vapes, particularly single-use products known as disposables.

    “Whilst entry-level single-use devices are responsible for record numbers of adult smokers switching to vaping due [to] their ease of use and convenience, the industry realizes that much more must be done to safeguard against their impact on the environment,” said UKVIA CEO John Dunne. “The fact is that disposables have been around for a while but have become hugely popular in the last couple of years, particularly with those on low incomes who are amongst the most prevalent smokers.

    “The Greenprint aims to mobilize environmental action to support a sustainable vaping sector in the future. It covers the development of recycling infrastructure, which is fit for the vaping industry, new vape innovations that make products more recyclable and reusable as well as the support that needs to be put in place to encourage greater retailer and consumer participation in the environmentally conscious disposal of vape products.”

  • ELFBAR Investigation: Warnings About Fake Vapes

    ELFBAR Investigation: Warnings About Fake Vapes

    Credit: Elfbar

    Potentially dangerous counterfeit disposable vaping products are flooding into the UK market, according to an investigation by ELFBAR, a Chinese manufacturer. Retailers and consumers are being warned that the illegal products are being produced in “squalid Chinese factories with no license for manufacturing and regard for product safety,” according to a press release.

    Since the launch of counterfeiting action by ELFBAR in June 2021, it has cracked down on more than 120 counterfeit production and sales targets, including factories, warehouses, logistics, and foreign trade companies, seizure of more than 2 million finished counterfeit ELFBAR products, millions of packaging boxes, anti-counterfeit codes, semi-finished vaping pipes and other accessories.

    Victor Xiao, the Chief Executive of ELFBAR, said consumers would be horrified if they saw the conditions in which these products are made. “The criminals behind these counterfeit products care nothing about product safety or the health of consumers and they cut every corner possible to maximize their profits,” he said. “Quite frankly, the conditions in these factories are absolutely squalid where workers man production lines in filthy conditions with no regard to hygiene at all.” 

    ELFBAR is clamping down hard on the illegal vape market and is building up an intelligence dossier on fake products as the counterfeiters get smarter and more efficient. While ELFBAR works hard to stop the fraudsters at source it realizes that it is impossible to stop all the fakes from getting through and is now warning retailers that they are the last line of defence to protect consumers.

    “While it can be hard to tell a fake product from the real thing just by looking at it, there is no excuse for any retailer to sell a counterfeit ELFBAR product. Retailers can scan a code on the packaging to check the authenticity of the product and we urge them to do this for every product they sell,” Xiao said. “Fighting fakes is a priority for ELFBAR and we remain  zero tolerance for these fake vapes right across the entire industry. The UK market is very important to us and we will continue to do all in our power to ensure that British consumers have confidence in their vapes.”

    John Dunne

    John Dunne, director general of the UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA), said he applauds ELFBAR for standing up against the counterfeiters.

    “They pose a significant risk to the harm reduction reputation of the global vaping industry. It’s why we have called for a retail licensing scheme here in the UK to prevent the sale of illicit products and much higher penalties of at least £10,000 per instance for retailers who break the law in this way,” he said. “Similarly, the counterfeiters and those who trade fake vapes along the supply chain need dealing with in a way by the relevant authorities that put them off from doing it ever again.”

  • U.K.-Based Vape Group to Raise Awareness With ‘VApril’

    U.K.-Based Vape Group to Raise Awareness With ‘VApril’

    John Dunne (Photo: UKVIA)

    VApril 2022, the annual awareness campaign from the U.K. Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) that educates smokers on vaping, opened with a vaping masterclass session with experts from the vaping industry, stop-smoking services and healthcare.

    For the first time, this year, the UKVIA is running a promotional campaign on social media, including an animated five-step guide to transitioning successfully from smoking to vaping; a video featuring the life-changing experience of a former smoker turned vaper; and a video of Anita Sharma addressing common concerns of smokers who are considering switching to vaping to help them quit their smoking habits.

    The month will also see publication of research on the level and quality of advice that is being provided to adult smokers when considering a switch to vaping.

    “We know from Public Health England that vaping is at least 95 percent less harmful than smoking, and the last 18 months has seen a massive groundswell of support from the medical and political worlds underlining how vital vaping is toward helping people to quit smoking and the overall health of the nation,” said John Dunne, director general of the UKVIA, in a statement.

    “We are steadfast and determined in our mission and resolve to give smokers a real choice, underpinned by VApril 2022 and the huge support we receive from vape retail stores and other businesses across the U.K. as well as vape associations across the world.”

  • UKVIA Director General to Appear on China National TV

    UKVIA Director General to Appear on China National TV

    John Dunne (Photo: UKVIA)

    The U.K. Vaping Industry Association’s (UKVIA) director general has been invited to talk on national TV in China to give his thoughts on recent proposed regulation changes in China and their potential impact on the Chinese vaping industry both domestically and globally.

    China recently amended its tobacco laws to include e-cigarettes, meaning they will now be regulated like conventional tobacco products.

    The regulation of e-cigarettes in China is of critical importance to the international vaping industry because over 95 percent of e-cigarette hardware is manufactured in that country, leaving the sector keen to see whether this latest regulation change will reshape that global industry.

    To look at these questions, John Dunne will be interviewed on the China Global Television Network to offer his perspective based on many years immersed in both U.K. and international regulatory environments for the vaping sector.

    Speaking ahead of his interview, Dunne described “reasonable regulation” as a “good thing,” adding, “However, while regulation has the ability to raise standards, ensure products are safe for consumers and restrict minors access, in its current form, it could have a massive detrimental influence both domestically and internationally.”

    The UKVIA, together with several other organizations, has outlined its concerns and suggestions to make the regulation more effective and less restrictive in a letter that is being submitted to the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration to consider.

    During the interview, Dunne will also get the chance to speak to the Chinese media about the latest vaping developments in the U.K., such as it being potentially the first country in the world to prescribe e-cigarettes.

    “We know here in the U.K. that what kills people is the combustion and the tar and not nicotine,” he said in a statement. “Our government sees vaping as the solution to a smoking problem and not the problem itself.”

    He added, “I hope the Chinese government and STMA [State Tobacco Monopoly Administration] are open to listening to the industry leaders both domestically and internationally to help shape these regulations so that China can, like the U.K., seize the public heath prize that vaping offers without damaging a very large and vital export business.”