Retailers in Health Secretary Wes Streeting‘s constituency have criticised new vape laws – as a shock poll shows 95 per cent of UK traders believe they will hurt small businesses.
Some 80 per cent also believe shopkeepers will continue to sell illegal vapes after the disposables ban is enforced on June 1 and certain flavours are prohibited as part of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill currently working its way through parliament.
The poll showed 98 per cent did not support a ban on e-liquid flavours, while 57 per cent knew of shops already selling illegal products.
Business owners were asked ‘with the introduction of a vape tax and proposed flavour restrictions, do you think there will be less people visiting your shop to buy vapes?’, with 93 per cent answering ‘yes’.
The survey, commissioned by campaign group We Vape, targeted over 800 independent traders and franchises via industry and trade fair WhatsApp groups to gather their views on the forthcoming Tobacco and Vapes Bill and its implications for small businesses.
With 167 company responses, the data is considered the most comprehensive retailer research of its kind into government plans to create a smoke-free generation.
It comes as traders in Wes Streeting’s constituency of Ilford North – where illegal vapes and cigarettes remain easily available – said the bill would hurt trade and force many people to black market vapes and cigarettes.
Gurdeep Chahal, owner of Somerville Convenience Store, said the Bill could force his shop to close.
Retailers in Health Secretary Wes Streeting ‘s constituency have criticised new vape laws – as a shock poll shows 95 per cent of UK traders believe they will hurt small businesses
Some 80 per cent also believe shopkeepers will continue to sell illegal vapes after the disposables ban is enforced on June 1 and certain flavours are prohibited as part of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill currently working its way through parliament (stock image)
Illicit vapes – many over the 3 per cent nicotine limit – bought by investigators in Ilford shops
He added: ‘The bill is only going to make the problem of illicit products worse here and I can’t believe my own MP is pushing something that could put me out of business. It’s handing the sale of cigarettes to criminals and is going to make it harder for my customers to move to smoke-free products.’
Trading nearby, Megavarnan Piratheepan, 46, moved to the UK to set up business from Sri Lanka 21 years ago and now runs three shops, employing nine staff.
Speaking outside his partnership Nisa store he said a flurry of new laws, including the bill and an increase in national insurance contributions, would hit small traders the hardest.
He said: ‘The government never listen to us or ask about laws that are suddenly on you. Where are the Government? Laws are made that effect us and we are the last to know.
‘There is no profit margin in tobacco but I make about £2.50 per unit on vapes and if they stop people smoking then that’s good. But with new laws and the increase in national insurance contributions, which will cost me hundreds of pounds a year, small businesses have to find a way to survive.’
He said it meant traders had no choice but to pass the costs onto customers.
Mr Piratheepan added: ‘It means a bar of chocolate that was £1 is now £1.60 because this is what retailers will have to do to stay in business.
‘I have been in the UK for over 20 years but it is becoming more and more expensive to maintain this.’
Some 80 per cent also believe shopkeepers will continue to sell illegal vapes after the disposables ban is enforced on June 1 and certain flavours are prohibited as part of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill currently working its way through parliament
Investigators in Ilford were offered to purchased packs of twenty cigarettes for just £5
The traders’ survey also showed 95% believed a flavour ban would ‘decrease in sales’, while 50 per cent thought it would cause vapers to return to smoking. Further, 49 per cent believe customers would buy flavours from the black market.
In Ilford, investigators bought scores of illicit vapes – many more than twice the legal nicotine strength limit of 2 per cent – and were offered packs of twenty cigarettes for £5. The average cost of a standard pack is more than £16.
In the survey, when asked ‘how do you view what the government are doing in the tobacco and vapes bill?’, 80 per cent of traders said ‘negatively’, neutral was 15 per cent and positive just 4 per cent.
Some 97 per cent thought government should focus on ‘enforcing current laws’ instead of banning products.
Measures in the new Bill will also prohibit advertising for all nicotine replacement products, ‘despite vapes being handed out by the NHS’. Trading Standards will also be tasked with dishing out £200 on the spot fines for retailers flouting new laws.
However, the poll revealed 78 per cent of respondents did not think this was enough to deter rogue traders.
We Vape founder Mark Oates said: ‘The results of our retailer research and opinions on the ground are shocking but of little surprise considering the impact some areas of the bill will have.
‘Kids must not be sold vapes, which are already age-restricted to over 18, and rogue traders need proper deterrents with closure for repeat offenders. But this plan to broadly attack flavours to protect kids is going to stop adult smokers switching to a much safer nicotine option with a much more appealing taste than tobacco.
‘Those who already vape will either seek out black market options to meet demand or worse still, return to smoking, while the small retailer loses out sales, footfall and associated profits. They cannot even advertise they sell a harm reduction product, despite vapes being handed to smokers trying to quit by the NHS. That doesn’t make sense.
‘If the government wants growth and a smoke free generation, attacking independent businesses that generate wealth and reducing the safer nicotine alternatives available for smokers is a serious mistake. Instead, and as the survey shows, they should enforce current laws on access to vapes, which are illegal to under 18s, and allow education of the public about vaping through responsible advertising.’
The vape disposables ban will come into force on June 1. However, the poll revealed 97 per cent thought restricting vapes would lead to an increase in cigarette use.
A business card given to investigators in Ilford advertising the illegal sale of cheap cigarettes
Last month, Paul Cheema, director of Malcolm’s Stores Costcutter in Coventry, wrote an open letter to Sir Keir Starmer (pictured), pleading for the future of small retailers and a review of the Bill
When asked if ‘vapers will try and source illegal vapes as a result of the proposed restrictions?’, 96 per cent said yes.
Last month, Paul Cheema, director of Malcolm’s Stores Costcutter in Coventry, wrote an open letter to Sir Keir Starmer, pleading for the future of small retailers and a review of the Bill.
He wrote: ‘Local shops are the bedrock of towns and villages across the country, but we face an unprecedented threat.
‘Tobacco and nicotine products are important to our business, they make up well over 15 per cent of our sales – often far more. Clearly, the sooner smokers switch to safer alternatives, the better. So why make that transition harder? And why let local shops pay the price for poorly thought through legislation?
‘The government needs to understand the pressure we are under. They should be focusing on the illicit stores that have boomed in the past year by selling illegal tobacco and vapes to people of all ages. This is a problem that can be solved by retailers and local officials working together, rather than dealing with the distraction of this Bill.
‘In pushing it though Parliament, stores will face even more abuse than we do today, the black market will continue to thrive and local stores with close, costing local jobs. Please Prime Minister, help us community retailers to survive, not disappear.’
A Department for Health and Social Care spokesperson said: ‘The health advice is clear: vapes can help adult smokers to quit but children and adults who have never smoked should never vape.
‘We are rightly acting on our promise to end the advertising of vapes to prevent future generations from becoming hooked on nicotine, and will be producing guidance to support retailers through these changes.
‘It’s absolutely vital that we support local retailers and get Britain’s high street thriving again. This government is committed to doing so – starting with 40 per cent business rates relief next year and a new permanent lower business rate from 2026.’
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill is currently at the Committee Stage of parliament, before advancing to the House of Lords.
