UK disposable vape ban: what’s changed, what hasn’t, and what’s next? In this episode of GFN News, Joanna Junak speaks with John Dunne (UK Vaping Industry Association) about how the market is responding to new regulation - rising black market activity, the shift from disposables to pod/open-tank systems, and why consumer behavior (including recycling) is still a challenge. They also address public confusion about relative harm compared to smoking, concerns around youth uptake, and why nicotine pouches may grow as an alternative in places where vaping isn’t practical.
Transcription:
00:00 - 00:49
[Joanna Junak]
Hello and welcome. I'm Joanna Junak and this is GFN News on gfn.tv. In today's program, we take a look at the UK nicotine and vaping market and how it's responding to new regulatory changes. John Dunne from the UK Vaping Industry Association joins us to discuss the issue in more detail. Hello John. Let's start with the UK vape market. How has it changed since a disposable vape ban?
00:49 - 02:00
[John Dunne]
Well, we've seen, as expected, a rise in the black market yet again. This is something that we did warn the government about. And really, nothing much has changed from how consumers are dealing with these products. Because one of the things that we tried to explain to the government is you can ban a product But batting a product doesn't change consumers' habits. And they've done nothing to perhaps incentivize consumers to recycle these products. So what we're finding is that even though the product is recyclable and follows the law, that consumers are still perhaps throwing them away when they don't have to. And again, this is what happens when poorly thought regulation is brought in and where the industry who knows the business very well is not really engaged in the process or not spoken to in the process. And again, this is what's happened. And we're starting to see this happen in other jurisdictions as well. We're seeing it in perhaps new legislation that we're going to face in the future here in the UK as well.
02:03 - 02:06
[Joanna Junak]
So what are consumers currently using and buying?
02:07 - 03:45
[John Dunne]
Well, Essentially, they're buying pod systems. And then eventually moving on to open tank systems, which we all know are the most economical way to vape. But for a lot of people, they're a little anxious to initially start on those type of devices. Some consumers, especially elderly people, find them too complicated to use. And this is why I think disposables really hit it off. with that certain segment of smokers looking to move into vaping, is that we're a simple device to use. So the regulations basically said that pod devices are fine. So once they're rechargeable, they can be refilled by changing another pod and the coils could be replaced. So changing a pod, generally you're replacing the pod as well. But for the most part, the prices are around about the same. The devices look very similar. So the consumers have really seen very little change. The change is really about what the manufacturers have seen. So this is one of the reasons why we're not seeing consumers treating these products that much differently. Now, we are seeing the pod sales increasing. There was a little bit of an issue when the devices first came out where perhaps pods weren't available in a marketplace in the quantities that were needed. Manufacturers quickly got ahead of that. So that's not now an issue. But, you know, consumers behavior, I think, still is an issue and that hasn't changed.
03:47 - 03:53
[Joanna Junak]
If consumers have seen very little change, what has been the biggest impact on the industry?
03:53 - 06:20
[John Dunne]
I think the industry has done really well. One of the things I love about our industry is it's very resilient and it's very entrepreneur driven. So decisions can be made very quickly. The industry can adapt to change very quickly. And I think that's one of the reasons why it's survived even through some turbulent times with regulations. So we're really happy about that. The only thing that it's suffering from at the moment, I think, is a lot of confusion with consumers over potential risks of using these products. And really, a lot of the consumers that we speak to, those that are maybe smokers at the moment or are very new to vaping, They're hearing things in the press over and over again that these products could be just as bad or even worse than smoking. And almost 53% of the people in the UK think that. And it's absolutely incorrect. Compared to smoking, these products are vastly safer for you to use. Now, the other problem that we've got is youth uptake of these products. And absolutely nobody wants to see young people who didn't smoke taking up this product. In fact, we don't want to see anybody that hadn't previously smoked taking up this product. But I think it's important to understand that young people are going to experiment with adult-related products, whether it be vaping, smoking, alcohol. So what we've really got to do is not to demonize the product, but to actually educate the young people on why they shouldn't be choosing these paths. But I think it's almost impossible to stop 100% of them from doing it. I think the great news that we've seen in the UK here is that not only is the adult smoking population at the lowest level ever. In fact, I think we're the first country now to reach a stage where we now have more people vaping than we do smoking for the first time ever. But also youth smoky numbers are under 3%. which from the UK's government's perspective is that's almost a smoke-free environment. So that's a wonderful news that we should be applauding rather than vilifying, I think, the consumption of nicotine through safer means.
06:22 - 06:33
[Joanna Junak]
That's interesting. So just one last question, John. Looking at these developments, do you see nicotine pouches becoming more popular in the UK?
06:33 - 07:08
[John Dunne]
I think they're growing in popularity. And I think this really goes to show how important it is to have a range of products for adults to choose from. Because there really is some places that people can't vape, whether that maybe be in an office environment or maybe on an airplane or something like that. So pouches really can fill that gap. For a consumer that's looking to consume nicotine in a safer way, but not in a noticeable way. And I think that's where these pouches really come into their forefront.
07:10 - 07:25
[Joanna Junak]
Thank you, John. That's all for today. Tune in next time here on GFN TV or on our podcast. You can also find transcriptions of each episode on the GFN TV website. Thanks for watching or listening. See you next time.