Vapers can return to cigarette smoking if workplace restrictions get tighter, says a recent new study which also claims that vapers tend to convince tobacco smokers to switch to vaping.
According to a study by vaping retailer E-Cigarette Direct, one-fifth of people using vapes to quit smoking tobacco could return to smoking cigarettes if restrictions on e-cigarettes tightened in their workplace.
The study is based on the survey of 2,000 people who vape.
Unlike smoking, people are legally allowed to vape inside, which many use as an alternative to tobacco.
The study also uncovered how vapers often convince their acquaintances and colleagues to switch from cigarettes to vaping. About 45 per cent of women and 52 per cent of men say they had introduced a colleague to vaping, stated the survey’s findings.
James Dunworth, chairman of E-Cigarette Direct said: “It is sad and very frustrating that a fifth of vapers would consider smoking tobacco again if rules around vaping in the workplace got stricter.
“Some workplaces provide a shared space for people to vape and smoke, which could cause a lot of relapses.
“Sometimes work can be a stressful environment, which can be a common situation for relapses. Those trying to avoid tobacco-based products should be given the respect and space to vape away from cigarette smoke.”
The revelation comes amid invitations by UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to vape manufacturers to submit their products to go through the same regulatory approvals process as other medicines available via the health service.
It could lead to e-cigarettes being licensed and provided as a prescription medicine in England within 18 to 24 months, the government has said.
When (and if) a product receives MHRA approval, clinicians will then be able to decide on a case-by-case basis whether it is appropriate to prescribe an e-cigarette to NHS patients to help them quit smoking.
North East Lincolnshire Council Trading Standards team have seized over £100,000 of illicit tobacco products during operations throughout Stoptober, the council stated on Wednesday (13).
The team and partner organisations such as Humberside Police uncovered 28,120 cigarettes, 12.45 kilos of tobacco and 3133 illegal disposable vapes in a number of shops during the four week operation. The products have an estimated value of over £100,000.
Shops and businesses on Freeman Street, Cromwell Road, Yarborough Road, and Second Avenue on the Nunsthorpe estate were all visited. The raids were part of Operation CeCe, an ongoing intelligence-led operation, targeting counterfeit and illicit cigarettes, tobacco and illegal disposable vape dealers.
Since January 2021, North East Lincolnshire Council Trading Standards team have seized 84,957 packs of cigarettes, 10,750 pouches of tobacco and over 17,000 illegal vapes, with a combined value of almost £1.8 million, all money which would have gone out of the local economy and into the hands of organised crime gangs.
Humberside Police’s Neighbourhood Policing Inspector for Grimsby West Claire Jacobs said: “We deployed our teams in support of North East Lincolnshire Council during this important operation to combat illicit cigarettes and tobacco within North East Lincolnshire.
“We continue our commitment through the Clear Hold Build initiative to ensuring that Grimsby remains a fantastic place, and working closely with partners on operations such as this one helps us to do exactly that.”
By law, Vapes should have an internal tank capacity of no more than 2ml, and the level of nicotine contained in the vaping fluid should not exceed 20mg/ml (or 2 per cent). As with tobacco products, these items are required to display certain health warnings and every such device, and the liquid it contains, should be registered with the MHRA (Medicines and Health care products Regulatory Agency) prior to being released onto the market.
Councillor Ron Shepherd, portfolio holder for safer and stronger communities, said: “This joint operation shows just how important it is to work together. Multi-agency operations such as these are keeping these products, that do not meet safety standards and are putting lives at risk, off the streets. We know illicit and fake cigarettes do not comply with the Reduced Ignition Propensity requirements and won’t self-extinguish, so are likely to start a fire.
“When you buy these products, you could be putting your own health at risk. Not only has no duty been paid on them but they’ve not been tested to ensure they’re safe. It is important to remember that whilst legitimate disposable vaping bars can be a very useful aid to smokers who are wanting to quit, they still have potential health issues as a result of use, and should never be purchased and used by non-smokers”.
Speaking about quitting smoking, Cllr Stan Shreeve, NELC Portfolio holder for Heath, Wellbeing and Adult Social Care, said: “I urge smokers in our region to use the support services on offer to help them to quit smoking.
“We have so many examples of people turning their lives around completely after quitting smoking with support from the Wellbeing Team, and you only have to look at the figures released today to see what a positive impact that could have for everyone.”
Britain's Premier Foods reported a 4.6 per cent rise in half-year revenue, driven by continued growth in its grocery business and brands such as Mr Kipling, Nissin and The Spice Tailor, shows the results reported today (14).
As UK inflation eased during the first half of the year, consumers who had been cautious about non-essential spending began to loosen their purse strings. That bodes well for food manufacturers who aggressively hiked prices at the peak of a cost of living crisis over the past few years.
Pricing on average is lower than last year, CEO Alex Whitehouse said in a media call, adding that the lower pricing has led to strong volume growth for the group's grocery and sweet treats businesses.As spending trends change and in the lead up to the key Christmas season, some food manufacturers are offering temporary discounts to attract more customers.
Premier Foods said it was on track to meet full year expectations but does not give actual figures. Analysts expect revenue of 1.15 billion pounds and adjusted pre-tax profit of 161.9 million pounds for the year ending March 30, according to a company-compiled consensus.
However, volume trends are expected to normalise and per unit prices are expected to be flat compared to a year ago, rather than lower, Whitehouse said.
Premier, which makes products ranging from plain flour to cooking sauces and quick meals, reported headline revenue of 498.7 million pounds for the 26 weeks ended Sept. 30, up from 476.7 million pounds a year earlier.
Whitehouse said, “We’ve delivered another really strong branded performance in the first half, underpinned by double-digit volume growth.
"This demonstrates the success of our proven branded growth model which was also supported by sharper promotional pricing. We gained both volume and value market share, outperforming the market as many consumers switched into our leading brands from own label. Our innovation programme continues apace as we brought many new products to market in the period, including Sharwood’s curry kits, Mr Kipling Loaf cakes and Loyd Grossman Pesto.”
“As inflation has begun to ease and shoppers are starting to feel more confident, we’ve seen consumers treat themselves more, helping sales of both Mr Kipling Signature Bites and Ambrosia Deluxe more than double in the first half of the year. We’ve continued to make very good progress against all the pillars of our growth strategy.
"We accelerated capital investment in our supply chain, continuing to invest in projects to improve automation and increase efficiency, in addition to enabling growth through new product development. Angel Delight ice cream and Ambrosia porridge pots contributed to strong progress in our new categories, which grew 67 per cent, while the international business performed very well, with revenue up 31 per cent.
"We continue to be very pleased by the progress of our acquired brands, The Spice Tailor and FUEL10K and we now have the biggest selling granola product on the market.
“As we look to the second half, we have exciting plans in place across all our brands, with our best ever Mr Kipling Signature mince pies benefitting from expanded distribution. With this, and our continued branded momentum, we are on track to deliver on expectations for the full year. As we look further ahead, we expect revenue growth to continue to be generated from our strategic priorities of growing our UK branded core, extending into new categories, overseas expansion and M&A activity.”
Shoppers are saving on grocery essentials to be able to afford treats and indulgences during Christmas while the festive time is expected to see a boost in sales of premium private label food and drink as more people "dine at home" , shows recent industry data.
According to total till data from NIQ, sales growth in UK stores stores slowed to 4.0 per cent in the four weeks ending 2nd November, down from a 4.7 per cent rise in the previous month. The research firm suggested that this is likely due to shoppers holding back their spending in anticipation of Black Friday at the end of the month and the upcoming Christmas festivities.
Despite easing inflation, shoppers were still cautious with their grocery shop, with spend per visit down 6 per cent on last year at £18.67. They also remained savvy with how they spend, with sales of items on promotion increasing from 24 per cent to 25 per cent. NIQ noted that 36 per cent of branded sales came from promotions – up from 35 per cent a year ago – with brands heavily reliant on deals to deliver volume growth.
Meanwhile, confectionery (+10.5 per cent) was the fastest-growing category last month as shoppers stocked up on sweets for Halloween and Christmas. However, shoppers reigned in on essentials with subdued value growth in the packaged grocery category (+1.7 per cent) and a decline in unit growth (-0.8 per cent).
Moreover, despite an increased level of promotions, shoppers cut back on purchasing beer, wine and spirits with a unit sales decline of 0.4 per cent – a sign that shoppers are holding back until nearer the festivities. NIQ pointed to a recent Homescan survey showing that price reductions and promotions are almost expected by consumers ahead of Christmas. The most popular are retailer vouchers with money off (24 per cent, up from 17 per cent last year) and product promotions (35 per cent, up from 29 per cent last year), which are the key factors considered by shoppers when choosing their Christmas store.
The data also shows that the cautious consumer sentiment has put pressure on general merchandise sales in supermarkets, with value down 1.4 per cent and volumes falling 5.5 per cent.
Mike Watkins, NIQ’s UK Head of Retailer and Business Insight, said, “Total Till sales over the last four weeks have slowed, with shoppers pulling back their spend. Shoppers so far have been cautious, and it’s evident that they are saving on grocery essentials to be able to afford treats and indulgences.
“However, the start of the Christmas advertising campaigns is an opportunity for brands and retailers to entice consumers and showcase what’s new and what’s different. And given that it’s possible that many shoppers will ‘dine at home’ more in the next few weeks, we expect this to boost sales in premium private label food and drink, which NIQ expects to do very well this Christmas.”
Walkers Chocolates said it is switching its popular own brand Turkish Delight and Mint Cream chocolate bars into EvoPak RCM, a 100% recyclable paper wrapper.
The bars will begin rolling out to selected Premier and Asda stores this month.
Unlike conventional paper packaging which often contains polyethylene, consumers can dispose of the new Walkers’ wrapper in their normal kerbside recycling collection along with their other paper recyclable items. Currently, it is only possible to recycle similar wrappers by returning them to store, which isn’t convenient for consumers and in many cases, where recycling processes aren’t carefully controlled, the wrapper still ends up in landfill or incinerated.
Significantly, if littered, the new wrapper does not produce harmful microplastics when it breaks down which cause serious damage to the environment and animal health.
Walkers Chocolates said the new paper wrapper provides a functional and environmentally friendly alternative to current snack and confectionary packaging which, over the past 30 years, has become complex with the development of light weight multi-layer structures.
This has driven efficiency and shelf life, but the complexity makes them impossible to deal with at end of life. This is compounded by consumer consumption, which is often on the move, making littering a bigger problem than other formats. The other factor is that small units using a complex combination of materials makes recycling and recovery options currently limited, resulting in landfill with no circularity option.
“At Walkers Chocolates, we have a strong focus on sustainability and are committed to reducing our impact on the environment. As part this, we will move away from plastic to paper-based materials completely over the next three to five years where possible,” Tom Murtagh, commercial director, Walkers Chocolates, said.
“Today’s announcement is an exciting step for the Walkers team with two our key customers and I hope is the start of a much bigger revolution in the chocolate category, and one which will be welcomed by consumers who can recycle the wrappers and know that no harmful microplastics are being produced at end of life.”
Developed by EvoPak, a manufacturer of sustainable paper based flexible packaging, the new paper wrapper (known as RCM) uses the same environmentally friendly technology as the world’s first fully recyclable crisp packet – the innovative polymer, Hydropol, developed by Aquapak, which is used in place of conventional plastic.
To keep the chocolate fresh and in good condition in transit and on the shelf, the packaging needs to provide protection from oxygen, seal well on standard packaging equipment and must be easy to print on. Hydropol provides all this functionality as well as offering multiple safe end-of-life disposal options for consumers and brands who want to help eliminate harmful plastic pollution.
Hydropol allows paper to remain fully recyclable and compostable and is even compatible with anaerobic digestion. Thanks to its solubility it doesn’t interfere with the recycling process and can allow up to 100% paper fibre recovery in standard mills.
Furthermore, if unintentionally released into the natural environment, Hydropol – which is proven to be both non-toxic and marine safe – still has a safe end-of life and will dissolve and subsequently biodegrade. It does not break down into harmful microplastics either in the paper mill or if packaging it is not disposed of as intended. It is already being used in products such as crisp packets, chocolate and garment bags.
The wrappers have been certified as recyclable in standard paper recycling mills by OPRL, the only evidence-based on pack recycling labelling scheme. This means they feature the green recycle logo and can be disposed of in consumer kerbside collections along with other paper material, unlike other wrappers.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ budget has served up an unexpected "double whammy" bombshell for businesses that risks driving food inflation further, delivering a potential “final fatal blow” for the beleaguered farming sector in the UK, leading food entrepreneur Ranjit Singh Boparan said on Tuesday (12).
Boparan relies on a network of hundreds of independent, family-owned farms for the supply of poultry into the UK retail and food service sector and the Budget’s inheritance tax raid on farms over £1m risk that supply being severely compromised. Under plans announced in the Budget, inheritance tax will be charged at 20 per cent on farms worth more than £1m.
Boparan, President of 2 Sisters Food Group, explained that not only will this move force many farms out of business, restrict supply and increase costs, it does not align with the Labour government’s aspiration to adopt policies to ensure food security in the UK: in other words, to ensure the UK grows and supplies most of the food it eats.
He said: “This Budget was a disaster for business and will deliver a final fatal blow to the thousands of small family-owned farms we in the food manufacturing sector rely upon day in, day out. They provide security of supply. This move will create food inflation and food insecurity. It will mean less people investing in food production in the UK.
“Farmers have been hit with massive inflationary rise in costs in recent years like feed, energy, labour, then we had a couple of particularly challenging years with high levels of Avian Influenza and the war in Ukraine. This instability in the supply chain means we’re always vulnerable to geo-political events.”
His public comments come as confidence in the UK poultry sector’s farming base remains worryingly low. NFU survey data from earlier this year suggested 15% of chicken meat producers were either unlikely or unsure if they would still be producing poultry “beyond November 2025.”
Boparan added: “All this has pushed British poultry to breaking point, and I see this latest inheritance tax rise as the issue that will push thousands of farms over the edge, it really is quite unbelievable given what they’ve had to endure. This makes a mockery of the government claiming to want a self-sustaining farming sector that champions British-made food. This tax rise does the exact opposite of that – it kills the sector, stifles supply and ultimately prices will rise.”
On the Budget’s overall impact on private, family-run companies, his own modelling suggests it could cost his portfolio of businesses – ranging from food production to high street restaurant brands - “many tens of millions” – which ultimately will be passed onto the customer.
He added: “The retailer sector has already quoted it will cost £1bn and in truth our sector won't be much behind that. £2bn on-cost is going to cause food inflation, all the while we've been spending all our time trying to bring inflation down.
“This Budget has done very little to encourage business owners to invest and build. Some businesses will find these changes a burden and it makes it more difficult to keep running smoothly and maintain value. Privately-owned businesses are the backbone of the UK economy and take a different view on long-term investment. All this budget package does is reduce confidence and increases the chances of closures or selling to Private Equity for example, which invariably generates less tax.”
The tax bombshell has also triggered a backlash from business, farming and rural communities. Last week, Tom Bradshaw, chief executive of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), said around “75 per cent of the total farmed area” would be subject to the extended death tax.