Large Puffs Of Disposable E-cigarettes Circumvent The Ban? Scottish Government: Large Puffs Of E-cigarettes Will Be Considered Disposable

"Large puffs" of disposable e-cigarettes circumvent the ban? Scottish government: Large puffs of e-cigarettes will be considered disposable

A Scottish e-cigarette retailer has warned that "large puffs" disposable e-cigarettes are circumventing the upcoming ban on disposable e-cigarettes by adding ostensibly rechargeable and refillable features. The Scottish government said that under the proposed legislation currently before the Scottish Parliament, these e-cigarettes will be considered single-use and are scheduled to come into effect on April 1, 2025.

 

According to the Daily Record on July 24, a Scottish e-cigarette retailer has warned that new "large puffs" disposable e-cigarettes are designed to circumvent the upcoming ban on disposable e-cigarettes.

 

VPZ, a chain store based in Edinburgh, said these "regulatory circumvention" e-cigarette devices have flooded the UK market ahead of the ban next spring.

 

The retailer said that "large puffs" e-cigarettes carry up to six times the amount of e-cigarette oil as standard disposable e-cigarettes, and these e-cigarettes take advantage of loopholes in the new regulations by adding ostensibly rechargeable and refillable features.

 

Doug Mutter, a director of VPZ, which supports a ban on disposable e-cigarettes, warned that the rise of this new class of disposable e-cigarettes could "reverse all the progress we have made to date."

 

"We condemn these 'high-puff' e-cigarettes because we firmly believe they undermine our goals and are poised to create a public health crisis as unregulated products flood the market."

Various versions of "high-puff" disposable e-cigarettes have already infiltrated the UK market ahead of the ban next April.

 

Although the batteries in these devices can usually be charged via a USB port, these high-puff e-cigarettes have non-replaceable coils like traditional disposable e-cigarettes, so they are still effectively disposable.

 

Green Party MP Gillian Mackay, an early advocate of the "Ban Disposable E-cigarettes" campaign, has vowed to do everything she can to ensure Scotland's ban is "watertight."

 

And Mutter warned that the rise of "high-puff" e-cigarettes has the potential to undermine efforts to clean up e-cigarette waste and control underage vaping.

 

He explained that this new type of disposable e-cigarette, which usually provides an additional 10ml e-liquid container as well as the standard 2ml built into the e-cigarette, is an attempt to design a device that is technically compliant with regulatory specifications for "refillable" and "rechargeable."

At the recent UK E-Cigarette Expo, Mutter said that up to 95% of exhibiting companies adopted some form of "high-puff" disposable device.

 

"The data shows that now more than ever the UK government needs to step in and support trading standards and local authorities to tackle the scale of the 'high puff' epidemic."

 

"At VPZ we have already taken action to try to curb the environmental issues caused by disposable e-cigarettes and launched our innovative e-cigarette recycling service in all our stores last year. We firmly believe that this innovative service and intervention is essential to tackling emerging environmental issues and educating e-cigarette users about the long-term financial benefits of using reusable products."

 

"We urge better collaboration between industry and regulators to quickly address this issue and ensure these e-cigarettes do not flood the UK market and jeopardize the progress made to date in quitting smoking."

 

"VPZ fully supports the UK government's 2025 ban on disposable e-cigarettes, but enforcement of existing regulations must be strengthened and current standards revised to appropriately address this industry issue."

 

While the ban is UK-wide, Scotland has published separate draft regulations defining disposable e-cigarettes as any e-cigarette that is 'non-refillable', 'non-rechargeable' or both.

 

It goes on to define the criteria for both, saying "non-refillable" refers to e-cigarettes that do not include "a disposable container that is separately available and can be replaced" or a container that can be refilled by the user. It says "non-rechargeable" means those that are designed with "a non-rechargeable battery" or have "a coil that is not available separately and cannot be replaced."

 

Mackay said she was committed to ensuring Scotland's ban leaves no loopholes.

 

She told the media,

 

"It is shocking but not surprising that e-cigarette companies are already trying to find ways to circumvent the ban before it comes into effect. They are blatantly trying to repackage disposable e-cigarettes so that they can continue to sell them to young people."

 

"I am determined to ensure that Scotland has a loophole-free ban that completely removes all disposable e-cigarettes."

 

Sheila Duffy of the health charity ASH Scotland said,

 

"It is important that regulations must be able to cope with the emergence of new products. The Scottish Government must be vigilant to any attempt to undermine the goal of protecting public health and the environment, and take action to close loopholes that may be exploited."

A government spokesperson said,

 

"Because so-called 'high-puff' e-cigarettes contain non-replaceable coils, these e-cigarettes will be considered single-use under the proposed legislation currently before the Scottish Parliament and is scheduled to come into effect on April 1, 2025."