Despite Downing Street setting a policy to stop the sale of single use e-cigarettes and similar products, many users are unclear what ‘illegal’ means in practice.
The revelations have been revealed by retail trade bible The Grocer. According to the results of its latest poll, 29% of UK vapers think the ban only comes into effect when a shop runs out of existing single use vape stock. Meanwhile, 9% didn’t know there was any ban at all. In comparison, 62% were aware it was now illegal to sell disposable vape products.
Despite the uncertainty, the policy has already had an impact since it became law on 1st June. 59.1% of British vape users have now switched to refillable models, while 14% were currently making their way through their old supplies.
Meanwhile, almost 8% had continued to use their disposable vapes through established channels, with 1% looking elsewhere — including an apparently thriving black market. Some former vapers had switched to cigarettes, a move which is the opposite of the intended impact — 7.8% said they had changed to traditional tobacco. Amongst over-65s this figure rises to 12.8%.
The Grocer has previously reported that one-in-six convenience stores had continued to sell disposable vapes despite the ban following an investigation conducted two months after the laws changed.
‘These survey findings do not surprise me and underline the UKVIA’s long held-view that outright band do not work,’ John Donne, Director General of the UK Vaping Industry Association, told The Grocer. ‘Before the ban was introduced, we warned this would lead to an increase in illicit ales and and increase in smoking.’
Image: Romain B / Unsplash
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