Q&A on the new vaping laws
What is changing?
Retailers that sell e-cigarettes or refills for e-cigarettes will be much more tightly regulated around what products they can sell.
How does this affect pubs?
If you sell e-cigarettes or refills either behind the bar or through a vending machine at your pub, you will need to follow the regulations and only sell approved products.
What products am I able to sell?
Manufacturers of e-cigarettes have had to get in touch with the Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to get their product approved. The MHRA will then issue a list of approved products. The latest list is available online.
When are the changes happening?
They have already started happening. Since mid-November, all e-cigarettes and refills bought to sell to the public will need to have been on the list of approved products. From 20 May onwards, only e-cigarettes on the approved list can be sold, meaning that all non-approved products will need to be disposed of.
What if my vending machine products are provided by an external supplier?
You will be obliged to check that the products provided by the supplier comply with the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD).
What about 0% nicotine products?
These will not be covered by the new regulations so can still be sold to customers as before.
Will customers still be able to vape in my pub?
Nothing has changed around vaping itself. That means that customers can vape in a pub as before. Equally, if operators do wish to ban vaping from their pub because it is interfering with other customers then they are still completely within their legal right to do that.
