ACS has welcomed confirmation from the Government that the proposed implementation of a ban on disposable vaping products will be delayed to June 1st to allow businesses enough time to prepare.
The Government has laid legislation to introduce the ban and, subject to parliamentary approval, businesses will have until 1st June 2025 to sell any remaining stock they hold and prepare for the ban coming into force. The UK Government and Devolved Governments have worked closely and anticipate aligning coming into force dates.
The ban was initially proposed by the previous Government with a planned implementation date of April 1st 2025. ACS has highlighted to officials the importance of a sell-through period of at least six months to enable businesses to prepare.
ACS chief executive James Lowman said: “We welcome the Government’s intention to provide businesses with enough time to prepare for the changes, including selling through existing product, working with suppliers to source alternative products and making structural changes to their displays in stores. This is still a challenging timetable for retailers and their supply chains, and we have developed comprehensive guidance on the ban which will be published shortly to help businesses with the transition.
“Once the ban is in place, it is essential that rogue sellers who are still selling disposable vaping products face the full force of the law and that Trading Standards enforcement teams are made aware as soon as possible, as these businesses undermine legitimate retailers.”
From 1st June, the only vaping products that will be available for sale legally in the UK must be refillable and rechargeable, intended for multiple uses as opposed to ‘disposable’ vapes which are single-use products.
All retailers who sell vaping products must provide recycling facilities in their stores on at least a one for one basis. More information about vape recycling is available here: https://cdn.acs.org.uk/public/
Existing guidance for retailers on selling vaping products responsibly is available on the ACS website here: https://www.acs.org.uk/advice/
