Karen Evans-Reeves
On June 1st 2025 a ban on the sale of single-use vapes got here into pressure within the UK. The legislation, launched by the Division for Surroundings and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) goals to scale back the enchantment of vaping to youth and stem the environmental injury of plastic and poisonous waste.
This legislation comes forward of the forthcoming Tobacco and Vapes Invoice which has had its second studying within the Home of Lords and is awaiting Committee stage. When enacted, the Invoice goals to introduce a smokefree technology by phasing out gross sales of tobacco merchandise to these born after 1 January 2009. The laws will even ban the promotion and sponsorship of nicotine merchandise together with vapes and nicotine pouches.
Indoor level of sale shows obtain an replace
Within the absence of different types of promoting, level of sale (POS) turns into extraordinarily necessary to the trade. POS advertising and marketing (even when simply the show of the merchandise themselves) has the capability to focus on each present and potential customers together with kids and younger individuals.
The Tobacco and Vapes Invoice permits room for introducing POS show rules, as an illustration lined POS shows in shops that promote each tobacco and novel merchandise akin to vapes and different novel nicotine merchandise and it’s anticipated that this can occur swiftly following passage of the laws. Nonetheless, it’s value noting that the UK already has tobacco POS rules which got here into pressure in December 2004—banning the show of cigarettes, cigars, and roll-your-own tobacco. This legislationtook six years from royal assent to full implementation on account of delays brought on by the tobacco trade.
In anticipation of the brand new rules eradicating many promoting avenues for nicotine merchandise, POS shows acquired impactful updates, most noticeably LED screens with eye-catching rotating adverts nestled amongst a horny array of vibrant vapes, nicotine pouch packs and most-notably heated tobacco merchandise (HTPs). In Could 2025, it was as if the December 2004 POS show ban for tobacco merchandise had by no means occurred. Two key factors come to thoughts:
The trade is ignoring present laws
First, IQOS advertisements. IQOS is a tobacco product and the Tobacco Promoting and Promotion Act 2002 (TAPA) prohibits the advertising and marketing of all tobacco merchandise together with at level of sale. Nonetheless, as this laws predated HTPs and the wording of the legislation doesn’t explicitly point out these merchandise, regardless of the very fact they’re tobacco merchandise, tobacco firms argue that HTPs usually are not certain by the 2002 legislation. Motion for Smoking and Well being vehemently disagree with this angle with CEO Hazel Cheeseman stating:
The tobacco trade is shameless exploiting a small ambiguity within the legislation to undertake a large and extremely funded advertising and marketing marketing campaign. It’s working too. ASH knowledge exhibits that public consciousness of merchandise is up throughout the board however most notably in below 18s and younger adults.
“Credit score should go to the supermarkets who haven’t entered into what I assume is a profitable partnership with the tobacco trade to advertise these merchandise. Whereas advertising and marketing could be seen in Sainsbury’s and Morrisons retailers it’s notably absent in different large chains akin to Tesco and Asda.”
IQOS has been willingly marketed in shops akin to Sainsburys and Morrisons a problem lined by BBC Information in February 2025. Regardless of Buying and selling Requirements’ view that these advertisements are towards the legislation, in Could 2025 IQOS adverts are nonetheless seen on LED screens in each supermarkets, together with in smaller shops owned by the grocery store giants.
Not solely did the advertisements go towards the spirit of the 2002 laws, however in addition they appeared to recommend that IQOS is a safer product with its ‘Heated Not Burnt’ message (Figures 1-6). The actions of Philip Morris go immediately towards the UK Authorities’s specific needs. The Minister for Well being wrote to Philip Morris Worldwide in June 2018 asking the corporate to desist advertising and marketing IQOS, stating that it didn’t share the trade place that TAPA 2002 doesn’t cowl IQOS. “It’s our opinion that HEETs [the tobacco sticks that are used in the IQOS device] are a tobacco product, and subsequently that commercials selling HEETs and the IQOS machine represent prohibited tobacco commercials for the needs of TAPA.” (Determine 7) In June 2025, the authorities requested that each Morrisons and Sainsburys supermarkets cease “promoting and selling” HTPs. Philip Morris Worldwide has responded saying that it doesn’t agree that advertising and marketing IQOS breaks any guidelines.
The Tobacco and Vapes Invoice will put an finish to this advertising and marketing of HTPs as they’re explicitly included within the definition of a tobacco product.
Adaptation of disposable vapes to rechargeable towards the spirit of the legislation
Additionally at POS in Could 2025 had been distinguished adverts for rechargable vapes, letting customers know that their favorite disposable merchandise would now be obtainable in a ‘rechargeable’ format. For instance, British American Tobacco’s subsidiary Nicoventures and its vape product Vuse.
The disposable Vuse pen has been changed by the Vuse Reload pen which requires disposable pods after 1000 puffs (Figures 8-9). When wanting on the Vuse pods on the Vuse web site, recycling data will not be obvious. While a rechargable machine is arguably higher than a disposable one, disposable pods as soon as once more really feel like they’re towards the spirit of the legislation which goals to scale back youth enchantment and put a cease to the big environmental toll of those merchandise. Moreover, reusable vapes are being offered at almost the identical worth as their disposable predecessors, providing little incentive for patrons to make use of them as supposed. Consequently, many proceed treating them as disposable merchandise.
It’s the identical previous story—novel merchandise, similar techniques. The tobacco trade continues to take advantage of loopholes to minimise the impression of the legislation on clients and promote its merchandise. Policymakers should acknowledge these acquainted methods and act decisively, banning point-of-sale promoting at once and will think about fines for tobacco firms who’ve explicitly marketed tobacco merchandise towards UK legislation. Significant penalties for illegal promotion are important steps to forestall historical past from repeating itself.
Karen Evans-Reeves is the previous Information Editor for Tobacco Management and an Honorary Analysis Fellow with the Tobacco Management Analysis Group on the College of Bathtub, UK.
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