Imperial Brands responds to Government call for evidence on youth vaping

Imperial Brands plc has responded to the UK Government’s call for evidence on youth vaping with a set of policy proposals designed to raise standards and drive out rogue operators.

Imperial, the FTSE 100 company behind the market-leading blu vape brand, made clear its commitment to preventing youth access to vaping, and called for the Government to:

• Establish a new retailer licensing scheme to improve compliance;
• Review flavour naming conventions to limit youth appeal;
• Strengthen the regulations for online advertising and promotion;
• Raise product quality and safety standards to ensure adult smokers can feel confident about transitioning to vape products;
• Work with industry to increase support to local authorities to tackle non-compliance.

Imperial’s response follows the call by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) for evidence to “identify opportunities to reduce the number of children (people aged under 18) accessing and using vape products, while ensuring they are still easily available as a quit aid for adult smokers.”

“We welcome the opportunity to contribute to OHID’s call for evidence on youth vaping," said Oliver Kutz, General Manager UK and Ireland at Imperial Brands. "Vape products should be used by existing adult smokers and adult vapers only – they should never be used by children.

“Government, industry, and enforcement authorities must work together to create a regulatory framework which both supports the important role vapes can play in helping adult smokers quit and prevents the appeal and access of these products to under 18s. We are proposing a series of measures to address product standards, flavour and naming regulations, and the retail environment. An integrated, multi-pronged approach is needed in order to drive out irresponsible actors and improve trust in this important product category.”