Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of UK Vaping Industry Association guidelines on (a) packaging, (b) labelling and (c) flavour names guidelines on limiting the appeal of e-cigarettes to (i) people who have never smoked and (ii) young people.

We have no plans to make a formal assessment of the UK Vaping Industry Association’s guidelines. However, we are considering the recommendations made in ‘The Khan review: making smoking obsolete’, including measures to prevent young people and non-smokers from starting to vape.

No assessment of the potential merits of increasing the level of fines for underage sales of vaping products has been made. Under the regulations, if an individual is found guilty of selling nicotine inhaling products to a young person under 18 years old, they may be fined up to £2,500. A business found to be repeatedly selling nicotine inhaling products to children could receive a Restricted Sales Order or a Restricted Premises Order from the court.