BAT has launched a multi-pronged media campaign urging new regulations be introduced so “the vaping industry can fulfil its potential to make smoke-free a reality in the UK”.
England wants to be smoke-free (smoking prevalence falling to 5% or less) by 2030 – with Wales targeting a similar timeline and Scotland four years later, BAT said in a press release. BAT said it is taking the unprecedented step of going public – across UK newspapers, websites, and billboards – with proposals that seek to limit vaping’s appeal and access to the underage and reduce the environmental impact of single-use vapes.
The move, which sees BAT take out high-profile adverts in newspapers and billboards across the UK ahead of the consultation on the Tobacco and Vapes Bill ending on 6 December, underscores the company’s determination to help the country realise its smoke-free ambitions from 2030.
In response to the consultation, BAT, who sells Vuse on the UK market, is calling for dessert and soft drink flavours to be banned, along with marketing slogans and imagery involving toys, cartoons, and sweets.
“Vaping is the key to unlocking the UK’s smokefree target,” said Asli Ertonguc, BAT lead for the UK. “As the largest manufacturer of vaping products in the UK, we are clear on our responsibilities and are urging the government to introduce more stringent vaping regulations. We believe that underage users should never vape, so we want confectionery, dessert and soft drink flavours to be banned and the introduction of a new regime for how and where vapes are sold.”
BAT, which invests GBP 300 million a year in R&D annually, with a global research hub in Southampton, believes that regulation to ensure that the right balance is struck between promoting harm reduction and diminishing the risk of unintended underage use offers the best chance of meeting the government’s ambitious target.
This approach recognises the role of flavours as an important driver of adoption for smokers seeking alternatives, while ensuring the removal of specific vapour product flavours that appeal uniquely to anyone underage, BAT said.
Read the full statement here.