On December 11th, according to the British retail website talkingretail, the Independent British Vaping Trade Association (IBVTA) has introduced a set of voluntary regulations for the e-cigarette industry. These regulations establish standards for product marketing as well as guidelines for product names and flavors.
The agreement is formulated beyond existing regulations in order to address any future measures that the government may introduce, with the aim of directly tackling the recent concerns surrounding the rise in youth access to and experimentation with e-cigarettes, which have been reported primarily due to the increased availability of disposable e-cigarettes.
The regulations clearly state that disposable e-cigarette products should not excessively appeal to children. It is mandatory for sales personnel of e-cigarettes to ensure compliance with their recycling obligations and to encourage responsible disposal of these products by e-cigarette customers.
This code of conduct has been signed by various parties in the e-cigarette supply chain, including leading manufacturers, producers, distributors, and retailers of disposable products in the UK market.
The parties involved in signing the agreement are responsible for over 50% of disposable e-cigarette products in the market, including the owners of the ELFBAR and Lost Mary brands, IMiracle (Heaven Gifts). IMiracle happens to be the most widely used disposable e-cigarette brand in the United Kingdom. The Independent British Vaping Trade Association (IBVTA) is set to encourage more signings in the coming weeks.
The standards clearly specify the following points:
Only products that comply with UK regulations and have been notified to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), if required by law, can be supplied. Products with brand or product names that aim to mimic well-known food, beverage, candy, cartoon, or entertainment brands or products (such as Skitle, Prime, Fantasi, Coka Cola, and Jolly Ranger) cannot be supplied. Products whose flavor names are similar to well-known food, beverage, candy, cartoon, or entertainment brands or products (such as gummy bear, Haribo, Orio, and Red Bull) cannot be supplied. Only products whose flavor names accurately reflect their taste characteristics, rather than abstract concepts that may excessively attract children, or products that may not effectively convey taste characteristics to adult customers, can be supplied. Products that prominently display images of fictional characters from cartoons or entertainment primarily targeted at teenagers cannot be supplied. Products that resemble toys, beverage bottles, water bottles, or novelty shapes primarily aimed at teenagers cannot be supplied. Due diligence measures should be introduced in the supply chain to reduce the supply of products to retailers without experience selling age-restricted products or without strict age verification procedures. This may include notifying our wholesale customers of regulatory requirements and providing best practice guidance on how to comply with the Due Diligence requirements of the Nicotine Inhaling Products (Age of Sale and Proxy Purchasing) Regulations 2015. Compliance with waste and recycling regulations in our own company and communicating the obligations of retailers to our retail customers should also be ensured. Marcus Saxton, Chairman of the Independent British Vape Trade Association (IBVTA), said, "I am pleased that the code of conduct launched today will cover 50% of disposable e-cigarette products on the UK market, and as more companies sign up, this proportion will gradually increase in the coming weeks and months.
This demonstrates that the e-cigarette industry is willing and capable of addressing recent concerns, including the issue of individuals under the age of 18 accessing e-cigarettes, as well as the increasing demand for recycling used e-cigarette products.
However, the industry cannot operate in isolation. We look forward to working with the government to develop a responsive and proportionate regulatory framework. The government also needs to take action and address the increasingly alarming issue of the illegal e-cigarette market, as these products will certainly not comply with the measures we have announced today.
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