‘Flavoured vapes is crucial for securing smokefree future’

A new investigation has reinforced the instrumental role of flavoured vapes and vaping products in securing a smokefree future, just one day after the British Medical Association called for a total ban on all non-tobacco flavoured vapes.

As part of the research, undertaken by the UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA), Freedom of Information requests were sent to 45 local authorities and NHS trusts across England about the use of vapes in their stop smoking service.

Of the 31 respondents, more than 95 per cent directly offer, or provide vouchers for, vaping products as a tool to help adult smokers kick the habit – of these:

• 100 per cent provided flavoured products – including fruit, mint/menthol, tobacco and dessert options

• More than 44 per cent recorded fruit options as the most popular amongst smokers or most often given out
• 24 per cent recorded fruit options – alongside tobacco and/or mint and menthol – as the shared most popular or most often given out
• One was explicitly described as ‘vape-friendly’

It was also found that more than two thirds of the stop smoking services have provided flavoured vaping products – including fruit, menthol and dessert options – obtained through the government’s swap-to-stop scheme.

The BMA says it’s counterproductive flavour ban proposal – which was put forward as part of a larger report on vape regulation in the UK – would help tackle the “growing epidemic” of vape use in the UK, but the industry and consumers warn it will sooner supercharge the smoking epidemic by blocking adult smokers from making the switch and driving current vapers either to the black market or back to deadly cigarettes.

The Royal College of Physicians, another respected medical institution, has previously warned against the wholesale limiting of vape flavours, saying they are an “integral part of the effectiveness of vaping as a quit aid”.

Mark Buchanan, a 58-year-old former smoker turned vaper, said, “I am deeply concerned about the British Medical Association’s proposed ban on flavoured vapes. I’ve tried gums and patches, but only vaping was able to help me end a 23-year smoking habit – and flavours played a critical role in this.

“I can’t stop using nicotine entirely due to mental health challenges, but vaping has helped reduce my intake by roughly half. I exclusively use menthol flavours as I hate the taste of tobacco and fear a ban could well force me back onto cigarettes again.”

The results of the FOI research also come as Labour revives the Tobacco and Vapes Bill which, if enacted, would give the Health Secretary unprecedented powers to make sweeping changes to regulations around vape displays, packaging and flavours without further consultation.

John Dunne, Director General of the UKVIA, said, “We recognise and share the desire to put a stop to youth vaping, however, banning all non-tobacco flavours is a completely misguided,  dangerous and deluded approach which will hurt smokers, vapers and legitimate retailers while lining the pockets of rogue businesses.

“Instead, we need to introduce regulation which outlaws youth-appealing flavour names and descriptors; optimise the MHRA notification process to prevent inappropriate products from ever making it to the shelves; and introduce an industry-funded, first-of-its-kind vape retailer and distributor licensing scheme which could empower trading standards through £50 million plus in annual self-sustaining funding and would bring into play much harsher penalties for businesses caught flouting the law.

“The BMA has either failed to consider or completely ignored the impact this recommendation will have on smokers and vapers, as well as the growing library of evidence which shows flavours are vital to the power of vaping as a quitting tool – including new research from Action on Smoking and Health UK which found fruit flavours are the most popular amongst adult vapers, while just 16 per cent say they prefer tobacco options.”

He continued, “Vaping represents an immense opportunity to prevent millions of unnecessary deaths, save the NHS hundreds of millions and help get the smokefree ambition back on track, but only if we put to bed these ludicrous calls for flavour bans and take a careful approach which balances the stop smoking power of vaping with the need to protect young people from accessing this age-gated product. We hope the BMA, and regulators, recognise the failings of this proposal and take the findings of our investigation as a taste of the truth about vape flavours.”

The UKVIA FOI research also found more than half of the stop smoking services to provide vaping products reported the quitting success rate was higher in attempts that involved vapes than those which didn’t .