London, UK – Yesterday, MPs voted in favour of the second reading of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which will prohibit the sale of tobacco to anyone aged 15 and under. WVA warns the MPs to reconsider their vote as the bill is going to the next stage in the Parliament.

The proposed bill implies that anyone born after 2009 will not be able to purchase cigarettes or Heat-not-burn-tobacco products. The Parliament also agreed on possible restrictions on e-cigarette flavours and product packaging among others.

“While the intention to prevent the population from the growing smoking epidemic is commendable, the additional ban of Heat-not-burn-tobacco products is raising concerns. These products have been proven to be a lot less harmful and together with flavoured vapes and other nicotine products, such as pouches, have been crucial in aiding millions of smokers quit. The Bill is creating a dangerous precedent of disparities in legislation for different groups of population and risks being applied for other, less harmful products which have been crucial in combating smoking,” said Michael Landl, director of the World Vapers’ Alliance.

“We are calling on Members of Parliament who voted for the bill to reconsider their vote. Approving such a bill carries many unintended consequences such as expansion of the cigarettes or flavoured e-cigarettes black market and youth indulgence in smoking habits,” added Landl.

“There are a few examples when legislators tried to implement generational bans which have not succeeded, such as Bhutan where the generational ban resulted in a huge black market growth and had to be eventually reversed. Let’s not risk the health of the UK population and focus on educational and risk-based approaches,”concluded Landl.

World Vapers Alliance has compiled a vast fact sheet on tobacco harm reduction, including data on nicotine, flavours, and taxation that is available here.