{"id":23929,"date":"2025-04-17T08:06:28","date_gmt":"2025-04-17T08:06:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/?p=23929"},"modified":"2025-04-17T08:06:33","modified_gmt":"2025-04-17T08:06:33","slug":"era-of-criminal-enterprise-feared-ahead-of-uk-disposable-vapes-ban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/post\/era-of-criminal-enterprise-feared-ahead-of-uk-disposable-vapes-ban\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Era of criminal enterprise’ feared ahead of UK disposable vapes ban"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The upcoming disposable vapes ban could trigger a new \u2018era of criminal enterprise,\u2019 an MP and health advocates have warned.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The UK\u2019s disposable vapes ban is set to come into effect on June 1 with the aim of curbing youth vaping. However, shocking new figures reveal the Labour government is woefully unprepared to properly enforce the ban. Critics say its lack of manpower and financial resources risk the market for vapes being handed over to dangerous criminal gangs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It has emerged only 80 apprentice Trading Standards officers have been employed to enforce the ban, with just \u00a330,000 allocated for their training – equating to \u00a3375 each.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One third of UK vapes already sold illegally<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A series of FOI requests by the Daily Mail newspaper reveal that an inadequate \u00a310 million has been allocated to police an already spiralling blackmarket – less than a third of the \u00a330.7 million analysts calculate is needed to enforce the ban in England alone for just one year. One third of vapes sold in the UK are already done so illegally. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It has also emerged only six full time staff from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) will police vape supply chains into the UK market, despite illegal smuggling having rocketed from last year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Latest National Trading Standards figures<\/a> from November reveal 1.2 million illegal vapes were confiscated in 2023 to 2024 – a 59 per cent increase <\/strong>from the previous year. Over the last five years, nearly 2.8 million illicit vapes worth \u00a321 million have been seized, which is predicted to be just a fraction of the true black market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Critics fear the UK approach will prompt high crime levels<\/a> seen in Australia, where vapes are now only legally available on prescription. There, criminal gangs fight for control over the vape market, murdering rivals, firebombing shops and terrorising urban areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Underworld operators will move quickly\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Jack Rankin, Conservative MP and member of the all-party parliamentary group for responsible vaping, said: \u201cWith no proper resources or plan to monitor the market, underworld operators will move quickly to usher in a new era of criminal enterprise in vaping products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSmall businesses will already suffer due to a loss in footfall the advertising ban will cause, which in turn will drive more people to source the products from the black market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cThe government is prioritising business regulation over business growth, which will lead to increased prices on the shop floor and a Wild West in illegal vaping products.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cThis always ends in violence, and in Australia we have seen fire bomb attacks by gangs on retail businesses that have refused to sell their black market products.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will restrict vape flavours, increase taxes on e-liquid and implement a blanket ban on advertising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Woefully inadequate numbers of officers\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Campaign group We Vape founder Mark Oates said: \u201cMany of the new laws will be impossible to enforce because of the woefully inadequate numbers of officers government has put in place to do so, alongside pathetic funding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe unregulated, illicit sector undermines the enormous contribution vaping has made in reducing smoking rates and health harms so it is vital criminals are targeted as they carve out and protect their territories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGovernment must increase investment here in enforcement of laws that remove supply, but not demand, or agencies will be overwhelmed by the black market and its associated crimes, as we have seen in Australia.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In February, a team of researchers from University College London and King\u2019s College London won\u2019t achieve its intended aim of curbing youth smoking<\/a>. They argued that young people are already switching to similar rechargeable versions of vapes and a ban on disposables is likely to push many adult vapers back to smoking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill – which will see a \u2018generational ban\u2019 on smoking and further restrictions on vapes – recently completed its report stage and third reading in the House of Commons. It is now being considered in the House of Lords, before it can be granted final Royal Ascent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rankin has previously highlighted the need for vaping products, which he described as “safer alternatives,” to remain accessible for the six million smokers not covered by the Bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said: “Any smoker will tell you how difficult it is to go cold turkey, and less dangerous off-ramps like vapes can be a lifeline for those looking for a way off cigarettes.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The upcoming disposable vapes ban could trigger a new \u2018era of criminal enterprise,\u2019 an MP and health advocates have warned.\u00a0 The UK\u2019s disposable vapes ban is set to come into effect on June 1 with the aim of curbing youth vaping. However,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":990005,"featured_media":23930,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[257,258],"tags":[344],"slider":[],"class_list":["post-23929","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-legislation","tag-australia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23929","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/990005"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23929"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23929\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23936,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23929\/revisions\/23936"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23930"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23929"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23929"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23929"},{"taxonomy":"slider","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/slider?post=23929"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}