2023 Session 2 Seminars

Since mid-2021, vaping prevalence has been rapidly increasing in Great Britain. This rise has been most pronounced among younger age groups, driven by the popularity of modern disposable vapes such as “Elf Bar”. Concerns about youth vaping and environmental damage have promoted proposals for an outright ban on disposable vapes. However, some argue that a ban would be challenging to enforce, leading to a thriving black market and other unintended consequences. In this talk, Harry will examine the impact that modern disposable vapes have had on smoking, vaping, and inhaled nicotine use in Great Britain — drawing on recent data from the Smoking Toolkit Study. He will examine the potential effects, both good and bad, of a disposable vape ban and other policy options on public health.

An increase in youth use of e-cigarettes has coincided with an sharp increase in the market and visibility of brightly coloured and packaged devices.  In this presentation, Eve will share the results of a recent research project that looked at how both young people and adults responded to current packaging and flavour descriptors, and the impact that restrictions had on their perceptions.  This talk will explore how standardization of packaging elements for e-cigarettes may reduce the appeal of products to youth and consider the question of unintended consequences. Eve will also discuss a need for cohesion of policy across nicotine products.

A substantial body of evidence shows that e-cigarettes are both effective for smoking cessation and much less harmful than combustible cigarettes. But many people (including some vapers) still believe vaping is equally or more harmful than smoking – and perceptions are worsening, rather than improving, over time. This talk will look at how risk perceptions of e-cigarettes have changed over the past decade, discuss the likely causes of these changes, and outline potential implications for public health.

Over 375 US localities and 7 states have adopted permanent restrictions on sales of flavored e-cigarettes as a means to reduce youth use and improve public health. But do these policies improve public health? To address this, I will present new evidence on flavor restrictions’ effects on both e-cigarette and combustible tobacco sales and use, and describe other policy options that hold promise for a UK context

Recent device and flavour restrictions announced by various governments will likely reduce e-cigarette use and may encourage some smokers and ex-smokers to switch to alternative harm reduction products, including heated tobacco products. This talk will present latest research from individual- and population-level studies on the effectiveness and safety of these products compared with e-cigarettes to assess their potential impact on public health should shifts in the harm reduction market occur.

In this session Craig Copland will outline the regulatory processes that the MHRA undertake, including how notification data supports an important regulatory and enforcement purpose.  Craig will discuss factors contributing to the rapid rise of disposable e-cigarettes and the essential  collaborative relationship with Trading Standards and other regulatory bodies including European regulators.  Finally this session will highlight the broader work of the MHRA, from assessment to safety surveillance and tackling the black market and enforcement wins.

• Is youth vaping a communication, regulation, or enforcement challenge - or all of these?
• Would  prohibition make enforcement easier?
• What are the influencing factors that impact risk perception
• There are regulatory approaches on the table to address youth vaping: What are the critical considerations before deciding between them?
• How could retail compliance be improved and are there any existing regulatory models that could be used to tackle youth access?