Watchdog says vape display ban conflicts with cessation
The Regulatory Policy Committee says the UK government’s vape display ban in shops clashes with its Swap to Stop smoking cessation scheme, a conflict.
The Government’s regulatory watchdog, the Regulatory Policy Committee (RPC), has reported that plans to ban vape displays in stores could clash with the Government’s own stop smoking schemes. The RPC scrutinises the evidence behind new regulations and spoke of the contradiction in a report sent to ministers.
The Government wants to ban vapes from being seen in shops, but it also promotes vaping as an effective smoking cessation tool through its Swap to Stop scheme. Since 2023, it has handed out vape starter kits for local stop smoking services, spending £3.2m in 2023/24 and £17m in 2024/25.
The Department of Health and Social Care initially avoided picking a favored method for restricting vape visibility due to concerns over conflicting goals—limiting exposure while still advocating vaping as a quitting aid. They were advised to examine past research on tobacco display bans, which had not recommended extending similar rules to vapes.
The Regulatory Policy Committee urged the DHSC to explain why it’s now pursuing a stricter approach, given its own earlier assessment acknowledged the ban might drive smokers back to cigarettes, though it couldn’t estimate how many.
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Despite the watchdog report in November last year, the DHSC pressed on with the strictest of the four options as its preferred approach to the display ban. The new regulations propose vapes be treated like cigarettes, which are kept behind shutters, and shown only briefly from behind the counter when an adult asks. The RPC’s opinion was only made public in August, some nine months after the DHSC received it and four weeks after the consultation had already opened.
We Vape founder Mark Oates responded, saying: “One arm of the DHSC spends millions handing smokers free vapes to get them off cigarettes. Another wants to hide those same products behind shutters and admits in its own impact assessment that this could push people back to smoking.” Oates questioned the purpose of watchdog reports if the details within are not being taken into consideration by ministers.
The RPC approved the DHSC’s evidence for consultation with the condition that its concerns would be addressed, including calls to justify the shift and review tobacco ban lessons. The department is now reviewing feedback but has not set a timeline for a final decision, leaving unresolved the tension between promoting vapes as cessation tools and restricting their visibility.
