By now, you will have heard about e-cigarettes (we prefer to call it vaping) and how effective many have found them be in quitting tobacco.
We at JAC Vapour are part of the first wave of companies who are helping to bring vaping products to the mass market in the UK. We want to convince every smoker that switching to a vape product can positively change their life.
We are represented on the Boards of several industry associations, including the IBVTA and UKVIA, and we try as best we can to influence the bigger picture, wherever we can.
Nearly 3 million people now use vaping products, and 50% have used these products to quit traditional tobacco completely. Public Health England research shows these products are 95% safer than traditional tobacco products. So, why is it that more people still believe vaping to be more harmful than traditional tobacco?
This is a complex problem.
- There have been many scare stories issued in the press.
- There has been justifiable reporting of some battery safety accidents.
- Different countries around the world are taking wildly differing positions towards regulation of these products.
- Research is still in its infancy.
- We still too often refer to e-cigarettes and not vaping.
The tobacco companies now have vaping products as part of their portfolio. Can the disrupted be the disruptors?
I don’t think so….
So, with confusion about the health benefits of switching to vaping, who the disruptors truly are and a wider precautionary principle approach to legislation, we end up with a market that is dysfunctional and the people who should benefit the most actually are the people that are being harmed the most.
If the disrupted are mixed up with the disruptors, then regulation principles will be draconian and stymie the growth in a product that experts state is 95% safer than smoking. This is part of the reason why in Europe we ended up with the Tobacco Product Directive (TPD).
The TPD is a hodgepodge of positive (a few) and negative (more than a few) regulations which are being interpreted differently by each EU state. It is a mess, and in a lot of ways, nonsensical.
Nonsensical example: there is a mandatory 2ml tank capacity but you can sell 10ml bottles in the UK?
We are banned from advertising the products which are (according to PHE) 95% safer than traditional tobacco. So, nobody knows what good looks like, which products have been tested, have acceptable warranties, and frankly have done the hard work to differentiate their offer by providing value.
This new industry is having to grow up quickly to influence this mess and fight on behalf of the consumer. Fight for what we believe in and fight for the right to provide a safer alternative to traditional tobacco.
That is why we at JAC design all of our own products here in the UK. This enables us to control the quality, provide proper warranties and ensure all our liquids are made with top quality ingredients.
We just wish we could tell people....