The British public support harsher punishments for shopkeepers caught selling vapes to children than those proposed by the government, polling commissioned by BAT has found.
The government plans to introduce a £200 fixed penalty notice in England and Wales, which will enable Trading Standards officers to serve on-the-spot fines to retailers selling vapes to under-18s.
More than half polled in the Britain in Focus survey, commissioned by BAT UK, said they considered the proposed punishment as “too lenient”. Almost two-thirds considered the maximum fine “too low”.
“The results speak for themselves,” said Asli Ertonguc, head of BAT UK & western Europe. “The public clearly do not feel the punishments in the current proposals are tough enough to protect the underage. We need to have an open conversation about appropriate regulation and enforcement while keeping vapes as a vital tool for adults to help the UK reach its smoke-free 2030 goal.”
The government’s Tobacco & Vapes Bill also includes initial proposals for a retailer licensing scheme, which found broad support among those surveyed. Details of the scheme are yet to be revealed, including when it will be brought into force and what the punishments will be for those retailers who repeatedly breach their licence.
Some 67% of those polled were in favour of a ‘three strikes and you’re out’ rule, which would see retailers lose their licence permanently for breaching the rules three times.
“A retail licensing system is a step in the right direction,” Ertonguc added. “However, without increased fines and stricter punishments, unethical retailers will simply continue to break the law. For a vape license to be effective, retailers must know that if they abuse it, they lose it.”
The government introduced the Tobacco & Vapes Bill in November, billing it “the biggest public health intervention in a generation”.
It includes the creation of “the first smoke-free generation” so children turning 15 this year or younger can never legally be sold tobacco, and the extension of the indoor smoking ban to outdoor spaces with children’s playgrounds, outside schools and hospitals being considered, subject to consultation.
The bill will also ban the advertising of vapes and nicotine products and allow ministers to regulate the flavours, packaging, and display of vapes so that they do not appeal to children.
The measures have been met with support among retailers. However, the ACS has expressed concerns the licensing scheme had been “outlined without any consultation with the retailers that will be most affected by it”, and the potential inclusion of measures to limit the number of licensed businesses in a specific area.
“A licensing scheme has the potential to help tackle the illicit market and punish those who sell to children, but unless properly structured it could also prevent legitimate traders from operating based on the presence of other outlets in the area, or the specifics of where that store is located,” said ACS CEO James Lowman late last year. “This requires detailed consultation with local shops and other stakeholders, and none of this has taken place.
“We now need proper discussion of the detail as regulations are drafted, or we fear that this legislation will significantly impact investment, growth and service provision in our sector.”
While the vaping sector has been broadly supportive of most elements of the coming bill, it has strongly objected to a possible ban on flavours. Trade association the UKVIA said “having a ban on flavours could have a negative impact on those who are attempting to quit”, citing research it commissioned by OnePoll that a third of vapers said a flavour ban would “lead them back to cigarettes”. Some 83% of vapers surveyed said flavours had helped them quit smoking.
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