The UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) has urgently requested the Government to pause the implementation of the new Tobacco and Vapes Bill, expressing concerns over potential public health crises.
Hidden within the Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) of the Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC), it is shockingly disclosed that there has been no investigation into the public health consequences of the proposed vape limitations.
The DHSC admits that they ‘have not quantified the health impacts of fewer people using vapes to quit smoking,’ as a result of potential changes to flavour offerings, point of sale displays or packaging and product presentation.
In addition, the Bill empowers the Secretary of State, or more accurately, her administrative staff, with extensive authority to introduce a wide range of new rules, bans, and restrictions without additional parliamentary oversight.
UKVIA Director General John Dunne said:
“We cannot stand by and let the Government play Russian Roulette with millions of lives.
“The potential health impacts of any new regulatory changes must be robustly examined and quantified before anything else happens.
“The potential health disaster that the Government is about to unleash with this politically-motivated Bill is so serious that we must halt its progress immediately.
He added:
“It is absolutely crucial that Parliament gets this right before this Bill becomes law.
“We have already written to the Prime Minister and every MP to point out this glaring oversight by the DHSC.”
“It is irresponsible in the extreme for the Government to propose legislation that gives unprecedented powers to the Secretary of State to make life-or-death decisions for millions of British smokers and vapers without even a cursory nod to the health impacts this may have.
“Because so many lives are potentially at risk, the evidence used to make these impacts must be made public and be independently checked and verified.”
