On May 30, the UK Vaping Industry Association welcomed the Prime Minister's decision to take tough measures against the sale of e-cigarettes to children or the sale of illegal e-cigarettes. The association urged the government to impose fines of up to £10,000 for such violations.
John Dunne, the General Secretary of the UK Electronic Cigarette Industry Association, has welcomed the new measure, saying that it responds to the association's year-long calls. He also emphasized the significant value of electronic cigarettes in helping many smokers quit, while also acknowledging the need to combat their illegal use among young people.
Duncan, the spokesperson, stated: "The UK Electronic Cigarette Industry Association fully supports the government's efforts to protect minors and urges the Prime Minister to ensure this firm stance is met with equally firm action.
For a long time, some unscrupulous businesses have faced little to no restrictions in selling products that claim to help adult smokers quit to young people, as they know the chances of getting caught are slim.
Even if caught, the fine is usually only £26, which is not a sufficient deterrent. We welcome the review of fines and urge that they be increased to £10,000 per offense. We also call for stricter enforcement through a retail licensing system, including age verification requirements and rigorous enforcement by trade standards agencies nationwide.
Unfortunately, the resources of many trade standard bureaus are far from sufficient to combat the problem of illegal electronic cigarette sales. The government should now take this issue very seriously.
Data held by the UK Electronic Cigarette Industry Association reveals that there are very few prosecutions nationwide against the sale of e-cigarettes to minors or illegal sales. This needs to be urgently addressed as a pressing issue.
Secretary-General Deng En added, "Unless unscrupulous vendors know that selling e-cigarettes to children will cause them huge financial losses, they will continue to do so.
We also welcome government attention to the situation of nicotine-free electronic cigarettes, and the UK Vaping Industry Association has repeatedly called for them to be included in the same regulatory scope to prevent those under 18 from purchasing them. We hope that they will also undergo the same testing and registration procedures as devices containing nicotine liquid.
We fully agree that there is no reason to give children free electronic cigarette samples in any situation, regardless of whether they contain nicotine or not. However, any new measures implemented by the government in this area should not adversely affect the hard work being done by anti-smoking centers across the country.
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The UK Vaping Industry Association has expressed its approval of the government's crackdown on unscrupulous companies that are selling vape products to minors.
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