8. Tobacco and Vapes - Revised Links
Renfrewshire Council · 11 March 2025
Back to Communities and Housing Policy Board — 11 March 2025 and its agenda
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___________________________________________________________________ To: Communities and Housing Policy Board On: 11 March 2025 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Environment, Housing & Infrastructure ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Creating a smokefree generation and tackling youth vaping – Enforcement of the Environmental Protection (Single-Use Vapes) (Scotland) Regulations 2024 ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 In late 2023, the Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC) completed an open consultation on the proposed actions the UK Government and devolved administrations were considering to tackle smoking and youth vaping. The Renfrewshire Council response was homologated at this Board on 16 January 2024. 1.2 This consultation exercise gathered views on proposals to protect future generations from the harms of tobacco, by creating the first “smokefree” generation. The consultation also proposed measures to tackle the growing problem of the use of Nicotine Vapour Products (NVPs, e-cigarettes or “vapes”) by young persons. These measures included the restriction of flavours, the regulation of point-of-sale displays, a restriction of the sale/supply of single-use vapes, or the extension of controls to non-nicotine vapes. 1.3 On 18 September 2024, the Scottish Parliament approved the first of a suite of planned legislative controls in this area. The Environmental Protection (Single-Use Vapes) (Scotland) Regulations 2024 (SUV Regulations) will prohibit the sale and supply of single-use vapes in Scotland. These Regulations were made under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, which permits the introduction of regulations thereunder by devolved Parliaments. 1.4 Vapes are considered re-usable if they are both refillable and rechargeable. If products are only one or the other, they will be considered single-use vapes, and therefore prohibited for sale or supply by these Regulations.
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1.5 Draft Amendment Regulations (Injurious Articles Regulations), proposed to come into force on 31 March 2025, will align the commencement date with the rest of the UK; meaning that the controls are implemented across the UK from 1 June 2025. 1.6 The SUV Regulations do not impose a statutory duty on the Local Authority; instead offering that the Local Authority “may” enforce the provisions within their area. In addition, it is for the Local Authority to determine which service is best placed to take forward these provisions in their area. It is also important to note that there is no funding package currently offered to support these new and additional duties. 1.7 It is proposed that the legislation is adopted and delegated to Officers in Climate & Public Protection; primarily to be utilised by Officers in the Trading Standards & Licensing team. These powers will supplement those already available to the Team and will likely only require to be utilised where all other attempts to secure compliance have failed. ___________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that the Board: (a) notes the progress made to date towards a Smokefree Future, and a ban on the sale or supply of single-use vaping products, (b) agrees to adopt the powers included in the Environmental Protection (Single-Use Vapes)(Scotland) Regulations 2024 (as amended), and notes that since the Regulations have been introduced under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, implementation of the Regulations is already delegated to the relevant officers within in the Scheme of Delegated Functions, (c) notes that a number of future papers are expected on this subject, as increasing legislative controls are proposed. _________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1 Smoking is the single-most preventable cause of ill health, disability, and death in the UK. It is responsible for around 80,000 deaths a year, including 8,300 deaths per year in Scotland. No other consumer product kills up to two- thirds of its users. In 2022, the Office for National Statistics reported that 6.4 million people in the UK were active smokers. This represented 12.9% of the UK population, and 13.9% of the population of Scotland. 3.2 While existing legislative controls have reduced the uptake of tobacco use in younger persons, the use of Nicotine Vapour Products (NVPs, e-cigarettes or “vapes”) has grown at a concerning rate. Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) report that the number of children using vapes has tripled in the past three years, and that 20.5% of children in Great Britain had tried vaping in 2023.
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3.3 In Renfrewshire, there are around 290 businesses currently registered for the sale of tobacco, or NVPs, or both. Businesses must register with Scottish Government to sell these products, and compliance with this requirement along with other regulatory controls is enforced by officers in Trading Standards. 3.4 In late 2023, the Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC) completed an open consultation on the on the proposed actions the UK Government and devolved administrations were considering to tackle smoking and youth vaping. This consultation sought views on proposals to protect future generations from the harms of tobacco, by creating the first “smokefree” generation. To progress this; legislation will be passed to ensure that people born on or after 1 January 2009 will never legally be able to be sold tobacco products. In effect, this raises the smoking age by a year - each year - until this restriction applies to the whole population. The Tobacco & Vapes Bill is at Committee Stage in the House of Commons and any future consultation responses will be brought to this Board for approval. Enforcement of the age restriction is likely to be a statutory duty; again intended for deployment to Trading Standards. 3.5 In September 2024, the Scottish Parliament approved the first of a suite of planned legislative controls in this area. The Environmental Protection (Single-Use Vapes) (Scotland) Regulations 2024 (SUV Regulations) will prohibit the sale and supply of single-use vapes in Scotland. Vapes are considered re-usable if they are both refillable and rechargeable. If products are only one or the other, they will be considered single-use vapes, and therefore prohibited for sale or supply by these Regulations. 3.6 Single-use vapes are an inefficient use of critical resources (such as lithium batteries), and are often discarded as litter or thrown into general waste. Littering spoils our communities, introduces harmful substances into the soil, rivers and streams, and causes harm to biodiversity. When single-use vapes are thrown into general waste they often end up in landfill or are incinerated, which means critical resources are lost. Lithium batteries can also cause fires, which risk the safety of waste management workers, firefighters and the public. 3.7 Draft Amendment Regulations (Injurious Articles Regulations); proposed to come into force on 31 March 2025, seek to afford Enforcement Officers a power to issue Fixed Penalty Notices for breaches of the SUV Regulations. A further paper will be brought to Board to outline these new powers in due course; should the proposal to adopt the SUV Regulations be accepted. 3.8 Officers in Public Protection adopt a graduated approach to enforcement of their statutory functions – referring both to the formal Integrated Enforcement Policy, and the informal “Four E’s” approach utilised during the pandemic. This model sees enforcers Engaging with traders, Explaining the requirements, Encouraging compliance and finally, Enforcing only where required. This model tends to achieve a high rate of compliance, balanced also with the best use of available resources.
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3.9 The fast-changing landscape in this sector is likely to place a significant burden both on retailers and our enforcement officers. Specifically, retailers and officers will need to work together to understand and implement the changes, as well as responding to consultations on proposals for increasing controls on NVPs (for instance, flavouring bans, or new registration requirements). This will be very challenging to resource effectively if no funding package is provided by Scottish Government. 3.10 Reports on progress will be brought to this Board as part of the Service Update report, to allow for effective oversight. ___________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial – unknown at the current time. 2. HR & Organisational Development – unknown at the current time. 3. Community/Council Planning – • Our Renfrewshire is thriving – regulation of this sector will ensure that retailers maintain high standards, are effectively regulated and will reduce the negative impacts on legitimate businesses from non-compliant retailers. • Our Renfrewshire is well – the proposal for a smokefree future will reduce preventable deaths in Renfrewshire by around 650 per year. There will also be a significant reduction in demand for associated health services. • Creating a sustainable Renfrewshire for all to enjoy – the potential for a ban, restriction of these products and/or requirement to recycle single-use vaping products supports the circular economy; placing an emphasis on minimising waste and maximising reuse, recycling and recovery of resources rather than treating them as waste. 4. Legal – this legislation is introduced under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 which is already delegated to Officers within Climate & Public Protection in the Scheme of Delegated Functions. These Regulations do not impose a statutory duty to enforce; however the environmental and public health issues are of such concern that it would be beneficial to adopt these powers, while noting the resourcing constraints. 5. Property/Assets – None. 6. Information Technology – None. 7. Equality & Human Rights – (a) The Recommendations contained within this report have been assessed in relation to their impact on equalities and human rights. No negative impacts on equality groups or potential for infringement of individuals’ human rights have been identified arising from the recommendations contained in the report.
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If required following implementation, the actual impact of the recommendations and the mitigating actions will be reviewed and monitored, and the results of the assessment will be published on the Council’s website. 8. Health & Safety – None. 9. Procurement – None. 10. Risk – None. 11. Privacy Impact – None. 12. COSLA Policy Position – N/A. 13. Climate Risk – The proposals offer an opportunity to significantly reduce the climate risk posed by these products. These single-use products use lithium parts, highlighted by environmental campaigners as a ‘critical material’ in the transition to net zero. Within a Renfrewshire context, one of the five Plan for Net Zero themes is circular economy, placing an emphasis on ‘minimising waste and maximising reuse, recycling and recovery of resources rather than treating them as waste.’ 14. Children’s Rights – None. _________________________________________________________ List of Background Papers (a) Background Papers – Report to Communities & Housing Policy Board on 16 January 2024 titled Creating a smokefree generation and tackling youth vaping – a consultation by the Department of Health & Social Care ___________________________________________________________________ Author: Faye Wilson, Serious Organised Crime & Trading Standards Manager Email: faye.wilson@renfrewshire.gov.uk