Skip to content
Search
AI Powered
Latest Stories

Vaping association welcomes MPs' call to distinguish 'smoking' from vaping

UK Vaping Industry Association

The UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) has welcomed calls from leading politicians for smoking to be clearly distinguished from “non-combustible alternatives” – including vaping – when the long-awaited Tobacco Control Plan (TCP) is finally published.

Members of Parliament also made the case for the TCP to fully recognise the vital role vaping has played in helping millions of people to quit smoking and the part it has in getting the UK’s faltering “Smoke Free 2030” ambitions back on track.


The remarks were made during a Westminster debate about the TCP led by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Smoking and Health.

Mark Pawsey, Conservative MP for Rugby and Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Vaping, said his belief in vaping as an effective and less harmful alternative to smoking was underpinned by Public Health England’s assertion that e-cigarettes were “95 per cent safer than smoking combustible tobacco”.

“These two points are key and should be integral to the treatment of vaping in the new Tobacco Control Plan: the pragmatic recognition of relative risk and harm-reduction and the fundamental importance of distinguishing between combustible tobacco, which we all know is incredibly harmful, and the far less harmful non-combustible alternatives which are available on the market,” Pawsey said.

Pawsey said the new TCP must “continue on the pragmatic and progressive path” forged in recent years while acknowledging “the importance of reduced-risk products in reducing smoking prevalence in our country”.

Of the estimated 3.3 million vapers in the UK, 1.8 million are ex-smokers and the remainder are smokers who also vape. There are about 7 million smokers in total in the UK.

Pawsey said there “is no doubt in my mind” that vaping has played a significant in reducing smoking prevalence in the UK, adding, “If the Government is serious about its 2019 commitment to get the UK smoke-free by 2030, the role of vaping must be further reinforced and supported through the new Tobacco Control Plan.”

The APPG for Vaping has set out recommendations for how the new TCP can embrace those to help eliminate smoking, tackle inequality and help level-up and strengthen consumer confidence in vaping by tackling the misinformation which is presently prevalent.

John Dunne, Director General of the UK Vaping Industry Association, said, “The UK is at a perilous stage in its journey towards a smoke free future, and the TCP will be crucial in steadying the ship and getting those ambitions which, after all, are rooted in harm reduction, back on course.

“With highly vocal advocates in both the political and health protection camps I feel we are in a stronger than ever position to finally get vaping the recognition it deserves as the best and most effective method to help smokers to quit and it is very encouraging to hear vaping being debated in this way at such a high and influential level.”

More for you

Budget 2024: Local shops to face significant new pressure

(Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

(Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Budget 2024: Local shops to face significant new pressure

Local shops will face significant new pressures as a result of today’s Budget, the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has warned.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves' budget's impact will be felt unevenly across the UK’s 50,000 convenience stores, with some measures such as business rate relief and the increased employment allowance mitigating costs for smaller independent stores, while providing no help for chains and larger independent businesses.

Keep ReadingShow less
Post Office cash deposits and withdrawals
Post Office, DPD partners to rollout ‘Click and Collect’ services
Post Office, DPD partners to rollout ‘Click and Collect’ services

Parliament to launch inquiry into Post Office Horizon scandal compensation delays

Parliament is to launch an inquiry into delays in compensation settlements for sub postmasters affected by the Horizon scandal.

The newly-formed Business and Trade Select Committee will call ministers, subpostmasters and their lawyers to give evidence next week with a second session to follow in mid-November. The Committee’s chair, Liam Byrne MP told ITV News that there was “definitely a delay” in people coming forward for payment.

Keep ReadingShow less
Bacup Wine and Convenience shop, 34 Burnley Road, Bacup.

Bacup Wine and Convenience shop, 34 Burnley Road, Bacup.

Robbie MacDonald via LDRS

Shop’s licence bid rejected over illegal vapes and ‘no regard’ for children’s safety

A Rossendale shop has had a licence bid rejected after repeatedly selling vapes to children and having illegal products on its premises.

Management at the Ibra Superstore at 34 Burnley Road, Bacup, have shown ‘no regard’ for children’s protection and safety, and have insufficient controls for licensing, Rossendale councillors have ruled.

Keep ReadingShow less
SPAR retailer hits target to secure £100,000 free stock from James Hall

SPAR retailer hits target to secure £100,000 free stock from James Hall

SPAR North of England retailer Dara Singh Randhawa’s family store has been awarded £100,000 of free stock after hitting all his targets since moving to the symbol.

Dara and his family, who have their SPAR store in Patrington in the East Riding of Yorkshire, joined SPAR through its association with James Hall & Co. Ltd in August 2023 having taken the decision to maximise the store’s potential.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pound Sterling bank notes
iStock

National Living Wage to increase to £12.21 in April 2025

The government has on Wednesday announced its acceptance of the Low Pay Commission’s (LPC) recommendations on the rates of the National Minimum Wage (NMW), including the National Living Wage (NLW).

The rates which will apply from 1 April 2025 are as follows:

Keep ReadingShow less