Public Health Minister, Andrew Gwynne, said he is keen to meet with a range of stakeholders across his portfolio and that he looks forward to working with the UKVIA over the coming months and years.
In a letter to our Director General, John Dunne, the Minister said the government has made clear it will act to make the country smoke-free, which is an ambition that is fully supported by the UKVIA.
He also recognised that, while not risk-free, vaping is less harmful than smoking and said the important role these products play in helping adults kick the habit should continue – to date, more than five million adults in GB have used the stop smoking alternative to cut down on or completely move away from deadly cigarettes.
The Minister went on to raise concerns about youth-vaping and said more needs to be done to tackle the illicit market. To that end, the industry has developed a first-of-its-kind vape licensing scheme which would prevent inappropriate businesses from ever being able to sell vapes, see those flouting the law hit with much more impactful punishments and generate upwards of £50 million in annual, self-sustaining funding which can be used to support trading standards.
Read the full letter from Andrew Gwynne MP here and click here for more on the proposed licensing framework: Vape-club_licensing-framework-document_v8.pdf (ukvia.co.uk)