BAT: Stronger Enforcement Is Key to Unlocking the True Potential of E-Cigarettes

According to reports today, in March, the UK Chartered Trading Standards Institute released a report indicating that one-third of e-cigarette products in the UK may be non-compliant, and one-third of stores are deliberately selling e-cigarettes to individuals below the legal sales age. This should serve as a reminder to everyone who recognizes the role e-cigarettes can play in reducing smoking rates.

Misinformation about e-cigarettes is a harmful issue, and the NHS has identified it as a significant barrier to helping smokers transition. As found in the independent evidence review published by the UK Department of Health (now the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities), the current best estimate is that the harm from e-cigarettes is about 95% lower than that of smoking. Despite this finding, 32% of smokers still mistakenly believe that e-cigarettes carry the same risks as smoking or are even more harmful.

If non-compliant e-cigarettes continue to dominate the headlines, it will undermine public trust in all e-cigarettes—even those that fully comply with safety measures designed to protect consumers. British American Tobacco (BAT) UK believes that one of the most effective ways to instill confidence in smokers to switch to e-cigarettes is to directly address issues of youth access and non-compliance.

As the government responds in the coming weeks to Dr. Javed Khan's independent review of tobacco control, it is crucial to propose solutions to the issues of underage sales and non-compliant e-cigarettes. Here is our simple two-point plan to ensure that e-cigarettes remain a safe and trusted tool in achieving our smoke-free goal by 2030:

Strengthen regulation of e-cigarettes to protect young people

Following the UK's exit from the EU and the review of regulations on tobacco and e-cigarette products in the UK, we have a unique opportunity to strengthen the regulation of e-cigarettes. Marketing and flavors are crucial for helping adult smokers transition, but both have been abused by unscrupulous operators to target children and young people. This must stop.

While e-cigarette flavors play a key role in encouraging adults to quit smoking, candy-like flavor descriptions and packaging that clearly target young people must be banned. Images and advertisements specifically designed to attract children must also be prohibited.

Enhance enforcement of existing laws

Without corresponding enforcement efforts, strict regulation will not solve the problem. The number of illegal oversized or high-strength e-cigarette products seized by Trading Standards has surged in the past year, and Trading Standards itself estimates that one-third of all products on the market are non-compliant.

BAT UK supports measures to increase the powers and resources of border forces and Trading Standards to remove non-compliant products before they enter the UK market. Regulatory bodies for medicines and health can also play a clear role and must intensify efforts to ensure that non-compliant e-cigarette products are taken off the shelves.

No time to waste

E-cigarettes are key to achieving England's smoke-free goal by 2030 and overcoming health inequalities in a divided nation. The Labour Party must support authorities in taking action to enforce existing laws. Without this, trust in e-cigarettes will diminish, and the incredible progress made in helping smokers transition to e-cigarettes may be at risk. Now is the time to build A Better Tomorrow? 

BAT UK is a subsidiary of BAT in the UK. BAT is creating a better tomorrow by reducing the health impact of our business. Since launching our first e-cigarette device in the UK in 2013, non-combustible nicotine products have accounted for nearly half of BAT's UK business revenue by 2021.