UKVIA decries lack of industry and consumer representation at Tobacco and Vapes Bill hearings

The UK Vaping Industry Association said they are ‘disappointed’ that no representatives for the sector, nor for the millions of adults who have quit smoking through vaping, were invited to speak at the committee hearings for the Tobacco and Vapes Bill held yesterday (7 January).

The bill is currently at the committee stage in the House of Commons. Witnesses who provided evidence in the morning session included chief medical officers for the four nations and chief executive of heath charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) and regional chief executives from ASH in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, along with the representatives from Cancer Research UK and Asthma and Lung UK.

This was followed by a second sitting which saw evidence from public health and trading standards experts, academic experts and representatives from Royal Colleges. Inga Becker-Hansen, policy adviser – retail products at British Retail Consortium, was the only representative from the retail sector at the session.

UKVIA noted that some of the measures being considered in the bill could have consequences on the effectiveness of vaping as a quitting tool, potentially blocking smokers from making the switch or sending current adult vapers back to cigarettes or to the black market.

“The legitimate industry, which is devoted to helping adult smokers kick the habit and shares the ambition of a smoke free future, as well as the consumers, whose lives have been changed by vaping, should have had a voice in today’s session,” the industry body said.

The UKVIA is hosting an event in parliament today to put forward the industry’s views on the bill, including the potential for a retail licensing scheme – something the association has been advocating for years.