Tag: UKVIA

Call for Action Against Noncompliant U.K. Vapes

Photo: zef art
The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) has called for stronger actions against noncompliant vape products in the U.K., reports Convenience Store.
Stating that the rise in noncompliant products is “getting out of hand,” the CTSI has asked for “clearer direction from government” and greater resources to fight the noncompliant trade.
The CTSI has also suggested that manufacturers publish batch numbers of noncompliant products and introduce restrictions to stop youth vaping, including prohibiting cartoon characters or light-up vapes, restrictions on packaging colors and the promotion of vapes on social media platforms such as TikTok. The group also suggested looking at where the products are positioned in stores and increasing the sanctions available for those producers, suppliers retailers who don’t comply with the law.
Vaping industry representatives applauded the CTSI’s position. “We share the CTSI’s concern over the growth in illicit and underage vape product sales and fully support their call for more resources,” the U.K. Vaping Industry Association said in a statement.
“We also agree wholeheartedly that restrictions need to be explored to address youth vaping without impacting on adult smokers who wish to switch to vaping in order to quit their habits.
“That’s why we are leading the way in forming a Youth Access Prevention Taskforce to develop detailed proposals to deal with the situation, and these include on-the-spot fines of up to £10,000 ($12,176.32) per instance for retailers who are found to be selling to minors and for selling illicit products; a national registration scheme for all retailers, meaning only those outlets that meet qualifying criteria can legally sell vapes; and a national test purchasing scheme that will ensure constant monitoring of retailers’ selling vapes to ensure that they are not turning a blind eye to purchases involving minors.
“Critical to the success of our proposals will be a ramping up of enforcement, and this requires major funding in resources on the ground.
“By Trading Standards’ own admission, resources are sadly lacking, and the government needs to step in and look at this situation as a matter of urgency. Our proposals are designed to support this funding need as monies will be raised from the fines and registration scheme.
“We will be presenting our proposals to government and parliamentarians at the end of March.”
March 13, 2023
UKVIA Updates Guidelines to Preventing Underage Sales

The U.K. Vaping Industry Association has updated its guide to retailers on preventing underage sales.
UKVIA Director General John Dunne said tackling the sale of vaping products to minors was “one of the most fundamental challenges facing the industry.”
The UKVIA is making its “Preventing Underage Sales Guide” freely available via its website.
The 20-page guide has been developed in partnership with the association’s Primary Authority Partners, Buckinghamshire and Surrey and Trading Standards.
Dunne said: “The entire UKVIA membership is united behind the message that we must do all in our power to stop underage sales.
“This is one battle that we simply have to win, but we need the support of government, regulators and enforcement authorities in order to do so.
“Our underage sales guide will give retailers all the information they need so that they don’t inadvertently sell to someone under 18.
“Policymakers, politicians and consumers must have confidence that the vaping industry is a responsible sector, and this will be undermined if businesses do not implement and uphold robust age verification processes.
“The guide gives clear advice on how to implement a ‘Challenge 25’ policy and why it is important that anyone who appears to be younger than 25 should be asked to provide ID.”
February 28, 2023
UKVIA Publishes Annual Vaping Industry Report

The U.K. Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) has published its 2022 annual report.
Among the highlights of 2022 was the launch of the UKVIA-commissioned Economic Impact Report from the Centre for Economics and Business Research, which—for the first time—detailed the national and regional contribution that the U.K. vape industry made to the economy, according to the UKVIA.
“Our industry is under scrutiny like never before, and we must tackle the big issues, such as underage vaping, the environmental impact of disposable devices and the massive influx of fake and illegal imports,” said John Dunne, director general of the UKVIA. “Any one of these issues has the potential to see regulators clamp down hard on vaping, and the fact that they are all happening at once demonstrates that it is crucial that we get our house in order without delay.”
January 26, 2023
UKVIA Calls for Innovation to Facilitate Recycling

Image: alexlmx
The U.K. Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) is calling upon its members and the wider industry to innovate products that make them easier to recycle for the waste management sector.
The move comes as pressure mounts to ban single-use disposable devices.
On Jan. 3. upmarket supermarket chain Waitrose announced a complete withdrawal from the single use vapes market. “Selling single use vapes is not something we could justify given the impact on both the environment and the health of young people,” said Commercial Director Charlotte Di Cello.
While environmental campaigners applauded the move, vaping advocates said Waitrose could do more to protect both public health and the planet by instead refusing to sell combustible cigarettes, which are the world’s most littered item.
Just five days later, Scottish PhD student Laura Young made national headlines in the U.K. when a video she posted on Twitter of her collecting 55 discarded disposable vapes while out walking her dog went viral.
Young, who goes by the Twitter handle @LessWasteLaura, gained public support when she posted two more follow-up posts and called for single-use vapes to be banned.
Following the publicity surrounding her anti-disposable campaign, the Scottish Government said it was “considering the emerging issues around single-use disposable vapes’ and urged consumers to dispose of them responsibly.”

We are working to find a waste management solution that minimizes the impact of vapes on the environment so they are seen for what they do best—helping adult smokers kick their habits.
John Dunne, director-general, UKVIA
According to the UKVIA, as campaigns like this gain traction, it may be only a matter of time before regulators decide to look closer at the disposable sector of the vape market.
UKVIA Director General John Dunne said that while the vaping industry recognizes its responsibilities to the environment, the recycling of vapes requires collaboration between adult vapers, retailers, manufacturers, the regulators and companies in the waste management sector, which are involved in the current producer compliance schemes under the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) regulations.
“Up to now there has been genuine confusion amongst the vaping sector about their responsibilities under the WEEE directive,” said Dunne in a statement. “Earlier this year the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment alluded to uncertainty around whether regulations covered the type of batteries found in vapes and also questioned the recycling infrastructure in place to support the sector to be more sustainable.
“This is why we are working hard as an industry to find a waste management solution that minimizes the impact of vapes on the environment, particularly when it comes to single use disposables, so they are seen for what they do best—helping adult smokers kick their habits and save the lives of millions as well as millions of pounds for the health service.”
January 16, 2023
Report Finds Vape Sector Boosts UK Economy

Photo: VPZ
The vape industry has had a considerable positive impact on the UK economy, according to a new report compiled by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) on behalf of the UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA).
Valued at £2.8 billion ($3.36 billion) in 2021, the UK vape sectors supports almost 18,000 full time-equivalent jobs in retail, manufacturing and supply chain. What’s more, smokers abandoning cigarettes in favor of less-harmful e-cigarettes has saved the National Health Service (NHS) more than £300 million in 2019 alone, according to the report.
Even as many businesses suffered in recent years, vape retail stores have bucked the trend and represent one of the biggest growing sectors since the first decade of the 21st century when they started to appear for the first time.
From 2017 to 2021, the UK vape sector’s turnover grew by 23.4 percent to £1.33 billion last year alone. When indirect economic benefits such as supply chain support and the spending power of vape sector workers is factored in the economic impact more than doubles.
In 2021, the vaping industry paid £310 million in taxes to the British exchequer.
CEBR estimates that the vaping sector saved the UK £322 million in smoking-related healthcare costs in 2019. The research organization reckons that if 50 percent of smokers switched to vaping, the potential healthcare savings would have been £698 million in 2020.
Meanwhile, the gain in economic productivity associated with smokers switching to using vaping products was estimated to be £1.3 billion in 2019. If 50 percent of remaining UK smokers switched to vaping, this would increase to £3.33 billion, according to the study,

In little over a decade vaping in the U.K. has grown from very much a ‘cottage industry’ to one of the fastest growing sectors in not just retail, but the whole economy.
John Dunne, director general, UKVIA
“The findings of the vaping industry’s first ever economic impact report demonstrates its significant success as a fast-growing disruptive sector,” says Owen Good, head of economic advisory at CEBR.
“Whilst many high street retailers have suffered in recent years, the vaping sector has bucked the trend, with significant growth both in-store and online. Even the effects of the pandemic have not significantly hampered the sector’s growth.
“The sector’s growth has been hugely beneficial to the U.K. economy; businesses and their employees directly involved in the industry and those running operations across the wider supply chain; and the NHS which has seen a massive cost saving with increasing numbers of smokers switching to vaping in order to quit their habits.”
“In little over a decade vaping in the U.K. has grown from very much a ‘cottage industry’ to one of the fastest growing sectors in not just retail, but the whole economy,” said UKVIA Director General John Dunne in a statement.
“More people than ever are vaping and by all measures this is a true British success story, creating employment and wealth, generating precious revenue for the government through taxation while at the same time saving the NHS more than £300 million a year through people switching from smoking to vaping.
November 29, 2022
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.”
November 28, 2022
Smoore Subsidiary FEELM Recognized at UKVIA Event

Smoore’s atomization technology platform, FEELM, won an award for innovation and was commended for its sustainability initiatives during the U.K. Vaping Industry Association’s (UKVIA) industry forum on Nov. 18.
The Best Innovation in the Vaping Industry award recognizes FEELM’s breakthrough technologies, including its ceramic coil disposable pod solution, FEELM Max.
Among other improvements, FEELM Max offers more puffs than other coil technologies with the same e-liquid volume. Its constant output control and flavor lock technologies ensure a high degree of flavor consistency while preventing dry burning. FEELM also established multiple laboratories to help clients comply with stringent industry regulations, including those issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The UKVIA Sustainable Vaping commendation recognized FEELM’s accomplishments in sustainable advanced technologies, responsible marketing and environmental stewardship. In 2019, FEELM created a groundbreaking environmentally friendly disposable electronic atomization device, for example. This year, FEELM developed an environmentally friendly zero nicotine e-atomization device.
Recently, the company committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, and its automated factory has adopted an energy management system to decrease carbon emissions while increasing energy efficiency.
“We are delighted to have won the innovation award and been commended in the sustainability category, and we are honored by the recognition the UKVIA has given us,” said FEELM Europe Division Director Echo Liu.
“A number of leading vaping brands are driven by FEELM, and our vaping devices loaded with our atomizer technology are now being exported to over 50 countries and regions.
“FEELM can only realize its corporate vision—’atomization makes life better’—by being sustainable and creating value for society. Every day we move a step closer to this goal by creating sustainable advanced technologies and products, using responsible marketing, and embracing a greener future.”
November 21, 2022
Nov. 18 is New Date for UKVIA Forum and Dinner
The UKVIA Vaping Industry Forum and Celebration Dinner will now take place on Friday, Nov. 18 at the QEII Centre in Westminster, London. The event had been canceled on Sept. 9, the day after the queen’s passing.
The agenda remains the same, and the UKVIA expects some additional speakers to be part of the lineup.
“We have had a fantastic response since the event was canceled, and we are looking to accommodate some additional speakers in our program,” said UKVIA Director General John Dunne in a statement. “We would like to thank delegates, sponsors, exhibitors and dinner guests for their patience, and we look forward to seeing everyone in November at what will be the biggest B2B event in the U.K. vaping calendar.
“The occasion will be particularly poignant as the original planned forum and dinner came the day after the announcement of the queen’s death. The event will allow us to pay tribute to Britain’s longest reigning monarch.”
While the original event had been at near full capacity, more tickets for the conference and dinner have now been released.
October 5, 2022
Scotland Urged to Rethink Vape Ad Restrictions

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The U.K. Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) has called on the Scottish government to reconsider its proposal to tighten advertising restrictions on vaping.
The call follows the publication of the outcomes of the government’s consultation on the plan. According to the UKVIA, the feedback from the consultation, which involved the input of individuals, local authorities, public health organizations and the vaping community, clearly shows that there is no majority of support for the recommendations put forward by the government, instead dividing opinions and leaving more questions than answers on the future of vaping regulations.
At the time the consultation went live, the UKVIA warned that the Scottish government’s proposals could derail the country’s 2034 smoke-free ambitions and that its stance is “in denial of the facts,” creating a significant risk to the health of people of Scotland looking to quit smoking as well as more uncertainty around vaping caused by misinformation.”

The proposals that were put forward only sought to further conflate vaping with combustible tobacco products by aligning advertising and promotion rules to existing restrictions on tobacco products.
John Dunne, director general, UKVIA
The UKVIA’s position was echoed by the Scottish Grocer’s Federation, which stated that the Scottish government’s move was unjustified and failed to appreciate the potential benefits of vaping products.
Many proposals put forward by the government generated 50-50 responses, and a number resulted in more respondents disagreeing than agreeing with them. These included proposals to ban in-store promotional displays, to make free distribution and nominal pricing of vaping products an offense and to make sponsorship agreements in respect to vaping products an offense. A higher proportion of respondents indicated that the proposed policy would have a negative impact on individuals (50.5 percent who felt it would versus 36.9 percent who didn’t) and on those with socioeconomic disadvantages (48.6 percent versus 25.5 percent).
“The proposals that were put forward only sought to further conflate vaping with combustible tobacco products by aligning advertising and promotion rules to existing restrictions on tobacco products,” said John Dunne, director general of the UKVIA, in a statment.
“Only by working with others, following the evidence and listening to people’s testimonies can we succeed in the goal of tobacco harm reduction.
October 5, 2022
UKVIA Chief Says Illicit Vapes a Big Problem in U.K.

John Dunne (Photo: UKVIA)
Up to 60 percent of disposable vapor products sold in the U.K. are illicit, according to the U.K. Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA).
Speaking to the U.K. trade publication Convenience Store, UKVIA Director General John Dunne estimated that between 40 percent and 60 percent of disposable vapes currently on sale in the country were either noncompliant with domestic laws or counterfeit.
“Based on the amount of [illicit] products I see in the marketplace, the number of reports of illicit sales and what’s being reported to trading standards, I believe it’s that big and a huge concern,” he explained. “I probably receive between 200 [reports] and 400 reports of illegal sellers in the U.K. every month.”
Dunne warned that noncompliance among retailers could destroy a category with huge potential. “This is a market that has huge growth potential for retailers, if it’s allowed [to] grow in a responsible manner, but having a short-term view and ignoring compliance is going to have a detrimental effect. And potentially lead to things like the category being banned, flavor bans or plain packaging.”
He also called for more action on retailers found to be selling vaping products to those under the age of 18.
August 25, 2022