Public health minister says he is ‘looking forward’ to working with vape industry

Public health minister Andrew Gwynne said he is keen to meet with a range of stakeholders across his portfolio and that he looks forward to working with the UKVIA over the coming months and years.

The UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) has last month written to Gwynne, along with Wes Streeting, the new secretary of state for health and social care and shadow health secretary Victoria Atkins, asking for a meeting to discuss how vaping can best support the nation’s smokefree ambitions.

In a letter to UKVIA director general John Dunne, the minister said the government has made clear it will act to make the country smoke-free, which is an ambition that is fully supported by the UKVIA.

He also recognised that, while not risk-free, vaping is less harmful than smoking and said the important role these products play in helping adults kick the habit should continue – to date, more than five million adults in Britain have used the stop smoking alternative to cut down on or completely move away from deadly cigarettes.

The minister went on to raise concerns about youth-vaping and said more needs to be done to tackle the illicit market.

The UKVIA, in its letter, has highlighted a first-of-its-kind vape licensing scheme which it said  would prevent inappropriate businesses from ever being able to sell vapes, see those flouting the law hit with much more impactful punishments and generate upwards of £50 million in annual, self-sustaining funding which can be used to support trading standards.