The UK government's ban on disposable vapes won't fix anything but will only boost a surge in illegal products, thereby making matters worse- both in terms of youth vaping and irresponsible disposal, echo the chorus voices from academia, industry and convenience sector.
The government announced on Jan 29 that disposable vapes will be banned across the UK and more measures will soon be introduced to prevent vapes being marketed to children and teens.
It is already illegal to sell vapes to anyone under 18, but disposable vapes - which are often sold in smaller, more colourful packaging than refillable ones- are the "key driver behind the alarming rise in youth vaping", according to the government.
While prime minister Rishi Sunak’s determination to crackdown on youth vaping is commendable, he seems to have overlooked the role of disposable vapes as smoking cessation. He also appears to have ignored other alternative way outs and factors such as more stringent enforcement of current guidelines, licensing, education and better awareness and most importantly, tackling the already-thriving black market of illegal disposable vapes.
Convenience store owners are certainly not happy with this outright ban as it directly slashes their revenue.
Dartford-based retailer Nishi Patel, who runs the Londis Bexley Park store, feels that the ban is a “massive misstep and will make the black market bigger”.
“Retailers in general are having a tough time and are trying to find a balance with price increases and margin. A lot of retailers have only kept open due to vapes so it’s a huge blow to our industry. Some shops will have to stop trading because now they just can’t afford to stay open.
“Rather than actually doing some real legislation and policing it better they have basically made it look like we are all selling to underage, which a lot of us know isn’t the case. Everyone I know who’s a retailer is responsively doing their trade across the board,” he said.
There has been a general cross-party as well as vaping industry consensus that there needs to be increased regulations and licensing on the vaping industry. There were talks of fit-for-purpose licensing scheme and for £10,000 on-the-spot fines for retailers caught selling illicit and non-compliant products or indulging in underage sales.
Patel also questioned the government’s decision of not considering the above-mentioned proposals prior to the ban, saying, “responsible retailers should be allowed to do what our fathers have been doing for years”.
Llanidloes-based retailer Trudy Davies of Woosnam and Davies News in Wales, who is also the district president for all the West Midlands branches of The Federation of Independent Retailers, has been keeping a vape recycling bin in her store since months, much before it became a guideline.
Calling the government decision “disappointing and draconian”, she estimates that seven percent of sales of her store will be impacted.
"Many retailers will have to cut staff plus a lot of them will be put ‘on hold’. We, as retailers, put back profits into investing or making our stores safe for a secure for future growth. This decision on disposable vapes will be devastating for retailers.
“This is a knee jerk reaction from a government during an election year. Most of the sector has asked from the very first for track and trace (like tobacco) and even suggested plain packaging (again like tobacco) but to give a blanket ban will make it not at all difficult but easy for the ones that don’t comply,” Davies told Asian Trader.
“Sadly, the retailers who will be affected will be the ones who are already taking care of all the regulations as well as not making any underage sales. Counterfeit black marketers and internet sellers will carry on regardless and are probably at this very moment rubbing their hands together,” she said.
Owner of Girish's Premier store in Barmulloch in Glasgow, retailer Girish Jeeva asserted that the ban will have a huge impact on sales and overall business, making it more difficult for him to pay bills along with other rising costs such as rise in national minimum wage again in April.
“Our weekly sales are £9,500-10,000 a week on vapes. Losing £10,000 worth of sales will impact us badly,” he said.
Well-versed with age regulations in vapes, Jeeva only sticks to top brands that are being supplied by Booker. Other than Booker, he procures his stock only from renowned wholesalers like Magnum vapes, a local vape supplier that not only deals in legal certified products but also advises retailers on regulations and legalities.
“As a retailer I think the government is just making the situation worse by allowing the black market and illegal trades to take place. It is almost as if they are opening the doors for them,” he told Asian Trader.
Retailer Girish Jeeva
Industry experts are also pointing out that rules to combat youth vaping as well as littering were already in place. It was only a matter of better enforcement and educating the youth.
“There are rules already in place to stop children purchasing vapes, to stop vapes being littered and ensure they can be recycled, and to punish those who sell illicit products but they are either not being enforced effectively or not at all due to a lack of resources provided to trading standards.
“The government’s proposals will have a significant operational and financial impact on legitimate retailers, while rogue sellers will continue on without concern,” ACS chief James Lowman said.
Federation of the Independent Retailers also states that the ban will boost sale of illegal vaping products.
“An outright ban will simply send youngsters towards unorthodox and illicit sources where there is no compliance to tobacco and vaping laws, while the products they peddle are likely to contain dangerous and illegal levels of toxic chemicals,” Muntazir Dipoti, the National President of the Federation of the Independent Retailers (the Fed), said.
To clamp down on young people vaping, the government needs to make more financial resources available for educational campaigns, while more enforcement activity is required, especially at borders to prevent counterfeit products entering the market, Dipoti added.
Cloud of Contrabands
Does government really believe that such a ban will make disposable vapes disappear from the UK?
Calling the ban a “counterproductive legislation”, UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) states that the ban “hands the regulated vaping market to criminals on a silver platter”.
Independent British Vape Trade Association (IBVTA) also feels that the ban will simply benefit those pushing illegal and unregulated product as people seek out single-use and flavoured products from illicit sources.
As lamented by retailers and industry bodies, this ban is more of a blatant boost to the thriving black market, a market which is already overflowing with millions of illegal and counterfeit products, a Gordian knot that the authorities have been miserably failing to untangle.
Prior to the January ban, sale of disposable vapes with tanks that contain more than 2ml of e-liquid if they contain nicotine, which comes to be around - around 600 puffs- was already prohibited. However, it is a known fact that the UK high streets are filled with disposable vapes with much higher puff levels.
Illegal vapes seized from shops in Littlehampton and Bognor (Photo: West Sussex County Council)
Millions of illegal and potentially harmful vapes have been seized by trading standards in the last three years, data shows, with experts warning this is just the “tip of the iceberg” of “tsunami” of products flooding in the UK.
Freedom of information requests to 125 local authorities revealed in June last year that more than two and a half million illicit e-cigarettes were collected since the beginning of 2020.
The number of illegally imported vapes seized at the UK border quadrupled in the last year as latest data show more than 4.5 million vapes were seized by the UK Border Force between January and October last year. Just 4,430 vapes were seized in 2021, rising to 988,064 in 2022, and soaring to 4,537,689 in 2023.
Since most hauls of illegal vape end up in the black market and eventually with end-users, the numbers of products seized by Trading Standards paint a grim picture.
According to Trading Standards, this “tsunami” of illegal products is coming from China.
“Almost all of the illegal disposable vapes are being imported into the UK and most of them appear to be coming from China. They come via air, sea, courier and even by post and we have recently strengthened enforcement at all ports and borders to tackle,” a Trading Standards spokesperson told Asian Trader.
Counterfeit products ultimately reach rouge retailers. And it is not just some rogue c-stores that are involved in here, many of such products are sold from barber shops, ice cream shops and souvenir stores.
Trading Standard cited lack of resources, lack of storage for seized goods, hostility against officers, the number of varied businesses selling these products and the demand for illegal disposable vapes as some of the challenges that it is facing to tackle this problem.
In fact, a new breed of e-cigarette that addicted teenagers and confounded regulators worldwide by offering flavors like Blue Cotton Candy and Pink Lemonade in a cheap, disposable package, originates in the southern manufacturing hub of Shenzhen in China.
The makers behind such products are infamous for flouting rules in US and flooding its market with flavoured vapes. With an outright ban coming in the picture in the UK, it is highly obvious that such makers and sellers are going to pump-up their supply.
Additionally, social media is filled with counterfeit products. Almost every convenience retailer gets bombarded with messages from random companies and individuals for buying a stock of their cheap illegal vapes. They are cheap, colorful, have more puffs (imagine £50 for 5 per cent nicotine and 4,000 puffs), fancy flavours and easily available at just a click.
Acknowledging the huge role of social media, Trading Standards said, “The Advertising Standards Agency are investigating advertising on social media platforms and will take action against anyone promoting vaping products there.
Stating that it is actively carrying out enforcement in this area, Trading Standard strongly advised shop owners to keep on top of any changes by checking the CTSI Business Companion site where information will be added as soon as clarity is available on the legislation.
Bodies like IBVTA and ACS have also been warning retailers not to procure products from uncertified sources and consider if the supplier is a legitimate business “registered with Companies House and has a valid VAT number”.
A Disastrous Move
Interestingly, an outright ban on disposable vapes will hamper the most to small convenience stores while industrial giants will remain unaffected.
Supreme PLC, the name behind some of the country’s top selling disposable vapes like Elf Bar and Bloody Mary, has in fact “welcomed” the government's decision. Considering the forecasts that disposables will contribute £9m FY24 on revenues of £75m, experts feel that Supreme’s FY25 outlook should remain largely unaffected by the ban while the incoming rules are predicted to cause a temporary spike of replacement vaping devices and refillable kits.
As the buyers will transition to refillable vaping or back to cigarettes, it is a blatant truth that they will also be lured aggressively towards counterfeit, under-the-counter, cheaper and illegal disposables.
Considering that 5 million single use vapes are being thrown away in the UK every week, a fourfold increase from 2022, the problem of littering, even after the ban, will also continue to exist.
Just a few weeks ago, the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) launched new guidance for retailers under which all retailers who sell vapes (regardless of type) must provide a recycling facility for consumers to bring back used or unwanted vapes. As part of the rules, retailers must also make information available to customers about the vape recycling service they offer.
Now that disposable vape market is set to go completely underground, it is a joke to believe that black marketers and rogue sellers will drive recycling campaigns the way responsible convenience retailers would have done collectively.
A more effective way to tackle youth vaping is by attacking the root of the problem and that is rogue traders- both sellers and suppliers. Also, the key lies in educating the teens and campaigning about the harmful effects.
This knee jerk reaction by Sunak’s government and that too just a few months before the election is being called out as short-sighted decision, a recipe for disaster that won't solve a thing but will only make matters worse, adding more problems to the pile.
Approximately £663 million has been paid to over 4,300 claimants across four schemes for the victims of Post Office Horizon scandal. This is up from £594 million figure reported last month.
Sharing the latest report, Department for Business and Trade (DBT) stated on Friday (7) that £315 million has been paid under Horizon Shortfall Scheme (HSS), including interim payments while £128 m has been paid under Group Litigation Order (GLO) Scheme.
£65 million has been paid under Overturned Convictions (OC) and £156 million has been paid under Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme (HCRS).
Initial interim payments are available to eligible postmasters upon getting their conviction overturned on the grounds that it was reliant on Horizon evidence, states the department.
As of 31 October 2024, all 111 eligible claimants have either reached full and final settlement or received a minimum of £200,000 through interim payments.
From these 111, Post Office Ltd has received 82 full and final claims.
Of these 82 claims, 66 have been paid and a further 7 have received offers. The remaining 9 are awaiting offers from Post Office Ltd.
"Post Office Ltd has been progressing non-pecuniary settlements first to get money to postmasters as quickly as possible, which means a number of partial settlements have been reached in addition to the full and final settlements published here. Post Office Ltd continues to work on finalising these outstanding claims," states the department.
Under GLO scheme, the department had received 408 completed claims from eligible GLO postmasters. 252 have been paid and a further five have accepted offers and are awaiting payment. Another 126 postmasters have received offers from DBT and the remaining 24 are awaiting offers.
In HSS, £315 million has been paid including £33.3 million in interim payments to original claimants and £7.9 million in interim payments to late applications.
DBT informs, "On 13 March 2024, the government announced that all eligible HSS claimants would be entitled to a fixed sum award of £75,000 to settle their claim.
Post Office Ltd continues to make top-up payments to claimants who had previously accepted a full and final offer below the value of £75,000, to bring their total redress to £75,000."
The Post Office Horizon scandal saw more than 900 sub postmasters being prosecuted between 1999 and 2015 after faulty Horizon accounting software made it appear that money was missing from their accounts.
Hundreds are still awaiting compensation despite the previous Conservative government announcing that those who have had convictions quashed are eligible for £600,000 payouts.Read more.
A former sub-postmaster who was wrongly convicted amid the Horizon scandal has recently received a £600,000 settlement.
Keith Bell, 76, was a sub-postmaster in Stockton, Teesside, between 1987 and 2002, when he was convicted of false accounting. He had to do 200 hours of community services when he was convicted.
Speaking to BBC, Bell stated that though he feel he could finally do the things he should have done for 20 years, he did not feel entirely vindicated.
"There's parts of my life I'll never be able to have over, but now I've got a chance to do things I haven't been able to do," he said.
"I decided that at my age I wanted to accept the offer that was given to me, I could have appealed for more, but that would have meant the process going on for years."
"Because of that conviction I lost jobs, I was unable to find work that could support my family, basically, and I became bankrupt," he said.
Bell added that he was inspired to fight for compensation by the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office.
He said, "I never, ever, thought I'd be in a position to challenge the Post Office, I didn't know enough about IT, I didn't have enough legal knowledge, nor did I have the funds to do it - I just decided I needed to put my weight behind the cause."
Last May, the government quashed all convictions which were part of the Post Office scandal.
Bell said the U-turn had been a "huge relief".
He added daily life had been a "struggle" over the past 20 years, but he was very lucky his customers and friends had been "very kind", while he was aware other sub-postmasters had a "terrible time".
Bell had spent years believing he had been at fault for the shortfalls which occurred at his Post Office branch in Stockton-on-Tees.
He had been a sub-postmaster from 1985, and like hundreds of others, began to experience unexplained shortfalls in his accounts after having the Horizon IT system installed in his branch.
He called Post Office helplines but was given little support, so when his books didn’t balance, he’d make up the shortfall himself. He did this firstly from his own savings, then from the proceeds of a house sale, before finally delaying some transactions in desperation to "make the books look right".
When auditors noticed discrepancies and wrongly told him other sub-postmasters had not had issues with Horizon.
He admitted to a charge of false accounting over a shortfall of £3,000 at Teesside Magistrates’ Court in 2002 and was handed a sentence of 200 hours community service. Unable to maintain mortgage payments on the business property, it was repossessed by the bank.
James Hall & Co. Ltd is celebrating apprentices across the business during National Apprenticeship Week 2025.
Under the theme of ‘Skills for Life’, apprentices in a range of departments from IT to marketing, food and drink processing to facilities and maintenance, and butchery to retail are being acknowledged.
Their contribution includes the success of James Hall & Co. Ltd and its associated brands SPAR, Clayton Park Bakery, Fazila Foods, Ann Forshaw’s Alston Dairy, and Graham Eyes High Quality Butchers.
In the last 12 months, several new Apprenticeships have been undertaken by employees at James Hall & Co. Ltd who are seeking to upskill in areas include horticulture, photography, food technology, printing, and recruitment.
The company is also working more closely with universities and colleges on Degree Apprenticeships, and more than half of James Hall & Co. Ltd’s Apprentices are completing qualifications at Level 4 or above.
Wendy Parkinson, Early Careers Lead at James Hall & Co. Ltd and national member of the Apprenticeship Ambassador Network, said, “We are extremely proud of our Apprentices and the significant contribution they make to our business performance.
“We offer continuous career development opportunities to our employees, whether that is young people starting out in their career, members of our workforce who are seeking to progress in their current role, or employees who retrain to go down a new career pathway within the business, such is the range of different careers within a company like James Hall & Co. Ltd.”
Current Apprentices, as well as those who have completed Apprenticeships, have spoken of the positive impact that knowledge and skills development has had on their careers.
James Hall & Co. Ltd honors apprentices across various departments.James Hall & Co. Ltd
The company’s Apprentices will be celebrated with colleagues studying a range of other qualifications at the annual James Hall Learning and Development Awards taking place later this month.
Grace Wood, a Level 2 Horticulture Apprentice, based at James Hall & Co. Ltd’s SPAR Distribution Centre, said, “I am really enjoying my Apprenticeship, and we have a diverse landscape within the depot grounds that continuously require attention to keep our site looking at its best.
“In the role I am in, you get the immediate satisfaction of seeing the improvement work that you have done. I love the opportunities my Apprenticeship is providing me to be creative through planting with different species and colours.”
Lavina Holt, a Level 2 Food & Drinks Process Operator Apprentice, at Ann Forshaw’s Alston Dairy, said, “I love my job and the Apprenticeship has made me feel more confident when carrying out my role. It has been useful understanding food hygiene and health and safety in greater detail, and a recent GMP audit which I shadowed was particularly interesting.
“I have had a mixed career, and I was nervous about taking up the Apprenticeship believing I was too old for learning. However, I have found the experience to be the complete opposite. I feel it has set me up well in a position I am happy in, with the potential for career progression.”
Steven Dennison, a former Team Leader Level 3 Apprentice, who is Assistant Store Manager at SPAR Wolsingham, said, “I have nothing but praise for Apprenticeships and the two that I have completed. They have supported my career progression and cemented my position in retail.
“I love retail because of its unpredictability with no two days the same. I began on a contract of 16 hours per week, before moving to a 30-hour contract at SPAR Lanchester. With the role I am in now in Wolsingham, there is the added challenge of the forecourt, deli, and butchers, and I will do a further Apprenticeship in the future.”
James Hall & Co. Ltd is a fifth-generation family business which serves a network of independent SPAR retailers and company-owned SPAR stores across Northern England six days a week from its base at Bowland View in Preston.
The Coca-Cola Company on Tuesday announced robust fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 results, demonstrating the effectiveness of its “all-weather strategy” amidst a dynamic global landscape.
The beverage giant reported a 6 per cent increase in net revenues for the fourth quarter, reaching $11.5 billion (£9.24bn), while organic revenues surged by an impressive 14 per cent. For the full year, net revenues grew 3 per cent to $47.1bn, with organic revenue up 12 per cent.
“Our all-weather strategy is working, and we continue to demonstrate our ability to lead through dynamic external environments,” said James Quincey, chairman and chief executive. “Our global scale, coupled with local-market expertise and the unwavering dedication of our people and our system, uniquely position us to capture the vast opportunities ahead.”
Fourth-quarter organic revenue saw a 14 per cent jump, fueled by a 9 per cent rise in price/mix and a 5 per cent increase in concentrate sales. Full-year organic revenue grew 12 per cent, driven by an 11 per cent increase in price/mix and a 2 per cent rise in concentrate sales.
Fourth-quarter operating margin reached 23.5 per cent, compared to 21.0 per cent in the prior year. Full-year operating margin was 21.2 per cent versus 24.7 per cent in the prior year, impacted by items including a $3.1 billion charge related to the fairlife acquisition. Comparable operating margin expanded for both the quarter and the full year, driven by strong organic revenue growth.
Fourth-quarter earnings per share (EPS) increased 12 per cent to $0.51, with comparable EPS also up 12 per cent to $0.55. Full-year EPS declined slightly to $2.46, while comparable EPS grew 7 per cent to $2.88. Currency headwinds impacted both EPS and comparable EPS performance, the company said.
Coca-Cola added that it gained value share in total non-alcoholic ready-to-drink (NARTD) beverages for both the quarter and the full year.
Global unit case volume grew 2 per cent in the fourth quarter, and 1 per cent for the full year. Sparkling soft drinks grew 2 per cent for both the quarter and the full year. Trademark Coca-Cola also saw 2 per cent growth in both periods.
Juice, value-added dairy and plant-based beverages declined 1 per cent for the quarter and were even for the full year. Water, sports, coffee and tea grew 2 per cent for the quarter and declined 1 per cent for the full year.
The company attributed the decline in coffee, 1 per cent for the quarter and 3 per cent for the full year, to the performance of Costa coffee in the UK.
Looking ahead to 2025, Coca-Cola anticipates organic revenue growth of 5 to 6 per cent and comparable EPS growth of 2 to 3 per cent. However, the company expects a 3 to 4 per cent currency headwind for comparable net revenues and 6 to 7 per cent for comparable EPS.
Dutch brewer Heineken on Wednesday reported a slight dip in sales for last year, mainly due to currency fluctuations, although overall beer volumes increased.
The world's second biggest brewer after AB InBev said revenue in 2024 came in at €36 billion (£30bn), compared to the €36.4bn it made the year before.
Beer volume overall grew by 1.6 per cent. In 2023, the brewer reported a 4.7 per cent decline in overall beer volume.
"Our beer volume expanded in all four regions, across both developed and emerging markets," said CEO Dolf van den Brink.
Looking ahead, the company said it expected to post "continued volume and revenue growth" despite ongoing economic challenges.
These included "weak consumer sentiment in Europe, volatility, inflationary pressures and currency devaluations across developing markets, and broader geopolitical fluctuations," the firm said.
Net profits were down sharply, at €978 million, compared to the €2.3bn posted in the previous year.
However, the company explained this was due to a one-off impairment from an investment in China Resources Beer, whose share price tanked on the Hong Kong stock exchange.
This write-down already hit the half-year results. "It's old news," said Van den Brink, describing it as a "technical adjustment."
The firm forecast operating profit before exceptional items and amortisation to be in the range of between four and eight percent in 2025.