John Dunne, the CEO of the UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA), has warned that the illegal electronic cigarette market could harm the profits of retailers. Speaking to ConvenienceStore.co.uk, Dunne discussed his ongoing efforts to combat the problem, which he described as "very serious". He revealed that a recent raid on a single shop on Oxford Street turned up 4,500 illegal devices, which had an estimated value of almost £100,000.
Our two biggest concerns at the moment are the sale of products to minors. Retailers are the final point of contact in this regard. Therefore, it ultimately falls on them to not sell products to young people. This applies to both physical and online stores." Online sales are a particular issue of concern for Dunn, who is calling on social media platforms to do their part in reducing the promotion of e-cigarette products, as he believes this is a major contributing factor to the high volume of sales to minors. "Platforms like TikTok and Instagram have age restrictions in place and use monitoring systems to remove posts that feature e-cigarettes. But the problem is that they are not interested in doing so.
We need to have discussions within our membership and believe that members should not be present on these platforms in order to set a good example. However, this is a significant risk for the company as it may put them at a competitive disadvantage. In my opinion, there is no reason to discuss age-restricted products on a platform with a primarily teenage population.
Duncan spoke of UKVIA's desire for stricter fines for sales to minors in order to prevent anyone from being tempted. "We hope to increase fines for selling e-cigarettes to those under the age of 18 to £10,000 per instance. We also hope for shops to obtain a license," he explained, detailing how the licensing scheme would weed out anyone selling illicit or unauthorized products. "The licensing scheme will help with trade standards, meaning they will be able to quickly identify who these illegal distributors are because they will not hold a license. We hope to see this as a nationwide plan, authorizing shops to undergo one or two checks per year to ensure they are complying with the regulations.
Illegal trade.
The second issue relates to the illegal products themselves," Dunne said. "Some are actually counterfeit or imitation products, and sometimes they are difficult to detect. But the easiest to spot are those products that are too large for the UK market or have a nicotine concentration exceeding the maximum of 2 milliliters. Dunne understands why customers may be inclined to purchase illegal products, especially if they are cheaper than legal ones, but he says the problem is a fair competitive environment for safe and rule-abiding retailers. If you have one retailer selling a legal device with 600 puffs for £5, while another retailer is shipping a device twice as large for £2. You can see why consumers would be attracted.
We are concerned that these devices have not been tested. They are not registered with the MHRA, and we are not 100% sure of what is inside them. It is also about providing a level playing field for retailers, because you do not want to deter retailers who are doing the right thing or tempt them towards illegal activities because nothing is being done. This will only end in a downward spiral that nobody wants. His advice to retailers is simple – if you have more than 600-800 puffs, do not sell them.
According to Deng En, between 40% and 60% of disposable e-cigarettes currently sold in the country do not comply with domestic laws or are counterfeit. "Based on the number of illegal products I have seen on the market, the number of reports of illegal sales, and the content reported according to trade standards, I think this is a big problem, a huge problem," he said. "I may receive 200 to 400 reports per month about illegal UK sellers. All of these people are sent to MHRA and Trading Standards for enforcement.
He warned that if the current trend of illegal and underage electronic cigarette sales continues, the category may face legislative crackdown. "For retailers, this is a market with enormous growth potential, but ignoring compliance in favor of short-sighted gains can have detrimental consequences. It could result in the category being banned or measures taken to ban flavors or plain packaging. I would encourage retailers to think about what they are doing. Do you want your children to have access to these products? If the answer is no, then why sell them?
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