Published5 hours agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, EFE/REX/ShutterstockBy Ben KingBusiness reporter, BBC NewsBanning disposable vapes will not be “effective”, the boss of the UK’s largest tobacco firm has told the BBC. Tadeu Marroco, chief executive of British American Tobacco (BAT), also said raising the smoking age would have “non-intended consequences”. The government plans to outlaw disposable vapes next April as part of the “biggest public health measure in decades”.BAT is the UK’s third-largest vape seller.Sales of disposable vapes – which give a few hundred puffs of nicotine-containing liquid before being thrown away – have skyrocketed in recent years in Britain. It is estimated hundreds of millions are now sold every year, many of them illegal. Last week the government published the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which will ban the sale of tobacco to anyone born from 2009 onwards, and bring in on-the-spot fines for retailers caught selling to under-18s. But Mr Marroco said such a ban had not worked overseas. “In other countries this hasn’t been effective,” he said. “In Australia they have banned the whole category, and the amount teenagers use in the illegal market is very high. The same is happening in Brazil,” he added.However, campaigners believe otherwise. Deborah Arnott, chief executive of the anti-smoking charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) said, “The ban on disposables can be made to work but it requires tough enforcement not just in shops but at the border to prevent illegal imports.”As one of the biggest publicly-listed companies in the UK, BAT is third in the disposable vape sector behind market leaders Chinese firms SKE and iMiracle, which make Elfbar and Lost Mary.Mr Marroco agreed that tougher penalties are needed. He said proposed on-the-spot fines of £100 were “not enough”, calling the French proposal of €100,000 (£86,000)”a proper fine”.But he warned of “non-intended consequences” for retail and law enforcement from the government’s plan to keep raising the smoking age every year, so that people born in or after 2009 will never legally be able to buy tobacco. “We need to tackle first of all the underage vapour use, we need to have a retail licence as we do for alcohol,” he said, and repeated the company’s calls for a ban on flavours which might appeal to children such as sweets and soft drinks. “There is no doubt that the UK is being looked at by a number of countries around the world. That’s why it’s so important to get it right here,” he said. Asked whether BAT was only advocating policies which aligned with its commercial interests, the CEO stated: “This is an industry which has been under a lot of scrutiny on how we reduce the health impact of our products… this is the first time that we have the technology to do that.”Mr Marroco defended the company’s use of sponsorship as “predominantly for adults” – it hands out free samples to promote its oral nicotine pouch products. “We are very cautious about that,” he said.Image source, Getty ImagesBAT also sponsors Formula One but Mr Marroco said the company’s controls were “robust enough” to stop teenagers being encouraged to buy nicotine pouches. However, he admitted that the law did not prevent them purchasing them. “At the moment if you’re 14 you can buy nicotine pouches [legally in the UK]. This needs to stop,” he said. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will give government powers to control sales of nicotine pouches.BAT has had to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in fines for violating international sanctions in North Korea and breaking competition rules in Nigeria.Mr Marroco would not comment if that made the company a trusted voice on vape regulation, but said: “We have exhaustively spoken about those problems in the past, and these stay there in the past…BAT today has the opportunity now that we didn’t have in the past to reduce the risk of our products.”Ms Arnott from ASH said: “We’ve heard it all before that BAT has turned a new leaf and is now on the side of the angels. “But BAT is still promoting tobacco cigarettes…and that’s still where they’re making most of their profits. That’s why they don’t like the government’s age of sale legislation, not because it won’t work but because it will.” In a statement the Department for Health and Social Care said smoking was responsible for around 80,000 deaths a year in the UK, costing £17bn a year. “The Tobacco and Vapes Bill is the biggest public health measure in decades, protecting future generations from the harms of smoking. “It will save thousands of lives and billions of pounds for our NHS, freeing up new resource which can be spent to improve outcomes across the UK.”More on this storyTobacco firm calls for tougher rules on vapesPublished27 November 2023What is the new vaping tax and when will it start?Published6 MarchSchool takes a stand to stop teen toilet vapingPublished6 hours ago

Published6 days agocommentsCommentsShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingBy Ben KingBusiness reporter, BBC NewsThe UK’s leading vape brand Elfbar and its sister brand Lost Mary say they will drop dessert and soft drink flavours, which have been criticised for appealing to children.Elfbar called for a new licencing regime similar to ones for cigarettes and alcohol.Elfbar and Lost Mary make up more than half of the UK’s disposable vape sales, according to data firm NielsenIQ.The government consultation on new rules for vapes closes on 6 December.The dazzling range of flavours have helped to turn disposable vapes into a market worth billions of pounds in a few short years, with Elfbar and Lost Mary taking the lion’s share. They’re both owned by the Chinese firm Shenzhen iMiracle Technology. Elfbar has already dropped Bubble Gum, Cotton Candy, and Rainbow Candy flavours, with more expected to follow. Gummy Bear was renamed Gummy, and is now called Gami.These will take some time to filter through the supply chain, so it may take a while for the changes to become apparent on the shelves, a spokesman said. Some flavours may reappear under different names, and a decision hasn’t been taken about Cola flavour, which Elfbar says can appeal to adults as well as children.The company also called for tighter restrictions on vape sales, including a licencing regime for retailers, and rules requiring them to display vapes behind the counter. “The introduction of such a regime would mitigate children’s access to vapes and make it easier for the authorities to better regulate the sale of vaping devices. Furthermore, we believe it would help combat the growing illicit vape market and drive increased rates of vape recycling,” an Elfbar spokesman said.As many as one third of the UK’s vapes don’t meet UK legal requirements, such as limits on nicotine strength and tank capacity. On Monday the third-largest seller, London-based tobacco company BAT, also called for a licencing regime. Image source, Getty ImagesElfbar argues against the introduction of a new tax on vapes similar to that charged on tobacco. It argued that a new tax would encourage former smokers to switch to illegal vapes, or return to cigarettes.Hazel Cheeseman, deputy chief executive of the anti-smoking charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) said: “It is no surprise that Elf Bar have failed to strike this balance in their recommendations with a series of half measures that will fail to adequately protect children”. She added that an extra tax on vapes “is particularly important to addressing the illicit market, something they say they care about, as it will enable far greater control of products at the border.”In a survey this year, ASH found that 50% of 11 to 17-year-olds who had tried vapes had tried an Elfbar, and 25% had tried Lost Mary. The second most popular vape seller in the UK, SKE – which makes Crystal Bar – did not return our request for comment on the consultation. In August it defended the use of sweet flavours. “You’ve got to consider that many Gummy Bears are sold to adults,” its communications director Serge Davies told the BBC. Councils have called for an outright ban on disposable vapes, saying that as well as appealing to children, they cause a litter problem and a fire hazard.Elfbar and Lost Mary sold over £900m worth of vapes in twelve months, more than 160 million units, according to NielsenIQ. Their numbers only capture around half the market, as they don’t include many vape shops, online retailers and convenience stores. So the true figure could be double that. The consultation on e-cigarette regulations ends on 6 December, and legislation in England, Scotland and Wales is expected “as soon as possible” afterwards. More on this storyCouncils call for ban on disposable vapes by 2024Published15 JulyTobacco firm calls for tougher rules on vapesPublished27 NovemberVape giant’s Insta giveaway had no age verificationPublished26 August