IBVTA

04/04/2026

Following recent revelations by Channel 4 reported on in print media today, we have released the following statement on age restricted products and illicit drugs being used to exploit minors.

Apr 4, 2026IBVTA statement on reports of age restricted products and illicit drugs being used to exploit minors The IBVTA is appalled to hear of these monstrous crimes, which go far beyond illegal sales of v**es to under 18s. Law abiding v**e store owners will of course have sympathy for the victims...

01/04/2026

🚨 From today, UK **ng product manufacturers, importers and warehousekeepers can apply for Va**ng Products Duty and Va**ng Duty Stamps Scheme approval.

📰 You can read the announcement here, which links to a suite of new guidance: https://lnkd.in/ezpAm_yx

⏩ The application guidance and link to apply for approval is here: https://lnkd.in/eEnTZvrE

🛒HMRC will further raise awareness of the new duty and stamp scheme with the retail sector later in 2026.

31/03/2026

The new chair of the Responsible Va**ng APPG, Euan Stainbank, has called for a more evidence-led approach to v**e regulation, warning that aspects of proposed legislation could risk undermining smoking cessation efforts.

The new chair of the Responsible Va**ng APPG is calling for an evidence-led approach to v**e regulation to protect smoking cessation efforts. Are you aware that va**ng is significantly less harmful than smoking? Join the campaign to support adult smokers in making informed choices and enjoy the vapi...

31/03/2026

💡 ‼️ A new overview of the best available evidence worldwide for smoking cessation, funded by Cancer Research UK, has found that ni****ne‑containing e‑ci******es (v**es) are more effective for smoking cessation than other interventions such as ni****ne replacement therapy (ni****ne patches, gum, lozenges, etc.) v**es with no ni****ne, and behavioural support.

⏩ The overview drew on numerous systematic reviews and over a hundred individual studies conducted across nearly a decade. The findings also show that ni****ne v**es achieved 46% higher quit rates when compared with ni****ne-free v**es.

🎙️ Lead author Dr Angela Difeng Wu said: “We hope this overview and Evidence and Gap Map can lay to rest some claims that evidence is ‘mixed’ regarding the impacts of ni****ne e-ci******es on smoking abstinence. In fact, the evidence is clear and consistent across all of the meta-analyses we consulted: e-ci******es are effective at helping people stop smoking.”

🎤 Commenting on the study for Science Media Centre, Prof Peter Shields, Emeritus Professor of Medical Oncology at the Ohio State University, said: “Too commonly, va**ng is still viewed as something dangerous that should not be used as a smoking cessation tool – in fact the opposite is true.”

You can read the study here: https://lnkd.in/edKJUxvp
And Prof Shields' comment here: https://lnkd.in/eVCVht_v

31/03/2026

🎙️ Our CEO, Gillian Golden is quoted in this ITV online piece. Both consumers and industry have a part to play in preventing these incidents.

‼️ While it is welcomed that the single use v**e ban has reduced both the number of batteries being sold and the amount of waste being produced, these fires are concerning.

♻️ A lithium battery and a v**e pod are very different in terms of environmental impact and complexity of recycling. However, every consumer should be returning their used products to recycling points to be dealt with properly, and every v**e retailer should be providing take-back bins to enable consumers to do this.

https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2026-03-30/epidemic-of-battery-related-fires-prompts-warning-over-correct-v**e-disposal

👉 Follow this link to find your nearest v**e recycling drop-off point - it could be a supermarket, v**e shop, or council site:

https://recycleyourelectricals.org.uk/electrical-recycling-near-me/

Something's gone wrong and we've got some technical issues at our end. Please take a look at on Twitter for the most up-to-date information from us.

31/03/2026

🚨 Great to see some expert opinion included in the reporting of this:

"Professor Peter Hajek, Director of the Health and Lifestyle Research Unit at Queen Mary University of London, described the review's conclusions as 'misleading'.

He goes on to say the authors specify early on that they are not comparing v**ers and smokers. This allows them to present a detection of any level of a suspect chemical, however negligible, as ‘carcinogenic’.

"Misinforming smokers risks discouraging them from using e-ci******es, which are one of the most effective methods that exist to help people stop smoking. Switching from smoking to va**ng removes the major source of all smoking related diseases, including cancer.”

Researchers have reported an 'unequivocal finding' about the health risks associated with va**ng.

31/03/2026

🚨 No fewer than EIGHT experts justifiably criticise the unfounded narrative around a review which is garnering alarmist and misleading headlines yesterday and today.

👉 Smokers, in particular, can remain reassured that va**ng is far less harmful than smoking

👉 Misinforming smokers risks discouraging them from using e-ci******es, which are one of the most effective methods that exist to help people stop smoking. Switching from smoking to va**ng removes the major source of all smoking related diseases, including cancer

👉 This narrative review is problematic for several reasons and makes extraordinary claims that are not borne out by the data

👉 This could be misleading if presented to the public as providing evidence of an association between va**ng and cancer

👉 It would require quite a stretch of the imagination to envisage how va**ng compounds could match the cancer-causing effects of combustion smoking

👉 This work does not meet methodological expectations for evidence synthesis and consequently, its conclusions should be treated with circumspection

⏩ Read more expert opinion from Prof Peter Hajek of Queen Mary University of London, Prof Lion Shahab, Director of the UCL To***co and Alcohol Research Group, University College London, Dr Baptiste Leurent, Associate Professor in Medical Statistics at UCL and others, here:

Prof Peter Hajek, Professor of Clinical Psychology and Director of the Health and Lifestyle Research Unit, Queen Mary University of London, said:

18/03/2026

🚨 Exposing your v**e to extreme temperatures is a fire risk.

❌ Avoid leaving it in a hot car or out in the freezing cold.

❌ Never use damaged, swollen or hot batteries.

**eDisposal **e Office for Product Safety and Standards

06/03/2026

🔌 Unplugging your v**e when it’s fully charged reduces the risk of fire.

🌡️ Rechargeable v**es contain batteries which can overheat when left charging for too long - and that means fire risk. Tonight. In your bedroom, your kitchen, or any room in your home.

**eDisposal **e Office for Product Safety and Standards

05/03/2026

➡️ New research from the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) Policy Research Unit in Addictions at King’s College London and University College London has found that the introduction of the Government’s 'Swap to Stop' scheme resulted in a significant increase in the number of people using **es to help them quit .

📈 The research found that ~125,000 people in England started using v**es to try and quit smoking in the year following the introduction of the Government backed initiative, designed to encourage people to quit smoking by providing free v**e starter kits alongside behavioural support.

New research from the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) Policy Research Unit in Addictions at King’s College London and University College London has found that the introduction of the Government’s Swap to Stop scheme resulted in a significant increase in the number of people...

05/03/2026

♻️ It takes 30 seconds to drop a used v**e at a recycling point.

🚨 When v**es get crushed in general waste or mixed recycling, the batteries can spark. That spark becomes a fire. Sometimes in the truck. Sometimes at the depot.

📍 Find your nearest v**e recycling point here: https://recycleyourelectricals.org.uk/electrical-recycling-near-me/

💡 It could be at a supermarket, v**e shop or council site.

**eDisposal **e!
**ng **ngindustry Office for Product Safety and Standards