Top Takeaways:

• UKVIA warns that Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s “Pride in Place” plan could undermine smoke-free goals by restricting specialist vape shops.
• The trade group argues licensing, tougher penalties, and enforcement would be more effective than blanket community veto powers.
• UKVIA says linking vape stores with betting shops and “unwanted” outlets risks pushing smokers back to cigarettes or into the illicit market.

The UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) has called on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to rethink his “Pride in Place” program, warning it could drive up smoking rates and strengthen the black market for illegal vaping products.

The plan would give local communities the power to block new vape shops, betting shops and other so-called “unwanted” outlets, while protecting derelict pubs. UKVIA director general John Dunne said the approach risks harming public health by restricting access to regulated vape retailers.

“This announcement may make good headlines, but we need to prioritise sound policy over soundbites when it comes to protecting public health,” Dunne said. “Vaping is the most effective method of helping adult smokers quit, poses only a tiny fraction of the health risks of smoking, yet nearly six-in-10 adults wrongly believe that it is as harmful or more harmful than smoking.”

Dunne stressed that specialist vape shops play a crucial role in educating smokers about safer alternatives. He argued that “linking vape stores in the ‘unwanted shops’ category with the likes of betting shops and fake barbers will harm communities by driving up smoking rates.”

The UKVIA supports a compulsory vape retail licensing scheme, which it says could generate more than £50m annually to fund trading standards enforcement without additional taxpayer cost. Under the proposal, retailers caught selling to children or dealing in illicit products could face fines of £10,000.

“We agree with the government that there are unsuitable establishments on the high street where vapes should not be sold, such as fast-food establishments, sweet shops, nail bars, taxi offices and hairdressers, and this is where the focus of any clampdown should be,” Dunne said.

He added that council officials — rather than local residents — should make decisions on vape store applications, as their rulings would be “based on facts not emotions.”

A UKVIA-commissioned report found the vaping sector contributed £401m in gross value added to the UK economy in 2021. Dunne said creating barriers to legitimate retailers could undo this progress.

“Creating unnecessary barriers to responsible vape retailing risks pushing people back to smoking or into the hands of the illicit market, which is what no one wants,” he said. “We want to work with government, local authorities and communities to restore pride to the high street by ensuring vape shops are run responsibly, transparently and in a way that supports the UK’s smoke-free ambitions.”