New vaping laws: When do the new smoking laws come into effect, what does it mean for YOU?

When are the new vaping laws coming in?

The new laws regarding vaping will come into effect on Monday May 20 as part of the Tobacco Products Directive.

These new laws promises a crackdown on unregulated vaping by labelling e-cigarettes as tobacco products.

What are the new laws and regulations?

1. All e-cigarettes and e-liquids will have to be registered with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency before they are put up for sale.

2. E-cigarette liquid bottles will not be allowed to be sold in quantities greater than 10ml.

3. Refillable e-liquid tanks cannot be bigger than 2ml in capacity.

4. The strength of nicotine in e-liquid must not exceed 20mg/ml unless it is registered as a medicine.

5. All packaging of e-liquids will ahem to be child-proof and resistant to tampering.

The changes will affect small and big retailers of vapes and accessories alike, but will also target people who promote their products on social media.

E-cigarettes were brought to the public attention in October 2015 when restrictions were placed on the sale of tobacco inhaling products to under-18s.

Leon Livermore, chief executive of the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, said last year that e-cigarettes were the most popular way of quitting smoking in England.

“More than 2.5 million adults use electronic cigarettes2 and evidence suggests the products are now the most popular quitting aid for smokers in England,” she said.

Data from Action from Smoking and Health revealed that 2.9 million people are currently using e-cigarettes  and that half of them have since given up on smoking. 

The number of vapers is on the rise, and the Office for National Statistic reported 2.3 million Brits in England, Scotland and Wales were vaping in 2015, which accounted for about 4 per cent of the population. 

Nicola Blackwood, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health, said: “It’s encouraging to see electronic cigarettes being included in the Tobacco Control Survey to make sure retailers are complying with the law.

What are the risks of vaping?

There is a lot of debate about the side-effects of using e-cigarettes over traditional smoking.

E-cigarettes contain nicotine but in most cases do not produce the same harmful substances, such as tar or carbon monoxide.

Health specialists have also raised concern about the link between vaping and “popcorn lung” – a condition caused by diacetyl, a chemical found in e-liquids.

When inhaled, diacetyl causes the scarring of the tiny air sacs in the lungs which results in the narrowing and thickening of the airways.

The NHS advises smokers who want to stop smoking to find help with the NHS’ stop smoking services.