Vaping is at a crossroads in the UK. With millions of vapes being discarded improperly each week, government bodies are pushing for bans on disposable vapes. However, their focus on banning certain products rather than tackling the root issues—such as illegal imports, product quality, and industry oversight—raises concerns about how much of this behavior is truly accidental. Could it be that policymakers are deliberately structuring regulations to benefit vaping’s biggest competitors—Big Tobacco and the pharmaceutical industry?
The lack of effective enforcement allows large-capacity illegal vapes to flood the UK, often exceeding the legal nicotine limit. Simultaneously, responsible vape businesses, particularly independent ones, are left in regulatory limbo, struggling to comply with unclear and inconsistently enforced laws. Instead of genuinely addressing safety and consumer health, the government appears to be paving the way for major tobacco and pharmaceutical companies to dominate the market.
The Border Problem: Illegal Vapes Flooding the Market While Ethical Businesses Struggle
The government’s failure to regulate and enforce borders properly has allowed a surge of illegal high-capacity vapes to enter the UK. These ‘big puff’ vapes, which last significantly longer than legally approved models, are arriving from overseas without adequate safety checks. Authorities lack the necessary budget and infrastructure to inspect and manage the influx, resulting in a market filled with unregulated products that could pose serious health risks.
Rather than focusing on enforcing current laws, regulators have chosen the easier route: banning disposable vapes altogether. This knee-jerk reaction ignores the real issue—poorly monitored imports and insufficient industry oversight. Meanwhile, ethical and independent vape companies, which prioritize compliance and product quality, are burdened with complex regulations while illicit sellers operate with impunity.
Poor Industry Knowledge or Intentional Bias?
One of the biggest challenges facing the vape industry is the government’s apparent lack of understanding regarding product functionality, safety, and manufacturing quality. While legitimate businesses must navigate complex compliance rules, illicit sellers operate freely, often selling unregulated, potentially unsafe products.
But is this lack of understanding genuine, or is it a convenient excuse to allow bigger players to take control? Instead of distinguishing between ethical vape manufacturers and black-market sellers, regulators have chosen to view vaping as a whole as a problem. This broad-stroke approach disregards the benefits vaping has provided to millions of former smokers and fails to offer a balanced solution that includes proper consumer education and responsible product manufacturing.
Who is helping craft these misguided policies? The very industries that stand to benefit—Big Tobacco and pharmaceutical companies that sell nicotine replacement therapies.
A Familiar Pattern: How the U.S. Paved the Way for Big Tobacco’s Takeover
The UK’s mishandling of vape regulation mirrors what happened in the United States with the FDA’s Premarket Tobacco Product Application (PMTA) process. The FDA’s Premarket Tobacco Product Application (PMTA) process has imposed significant financial burdens on independent vape manufacturers. The estimated cost for preparing a PMTA ranges from approximately $117,000 to $466,000 per product, as outlined in the FDA’s Regulatory Impact Analysis.
Given these substantial costs, many independent manufacturers faced financial challenges in submitting applications for their products. The FDA received a large number of PMTA submissions, many of which were from small to mid-sized companies. However, the FDA rejected a significant portion of these applications, effectively barring numerous independent products from the market.
Under this regulation, independent vape businesses were forced to submit expensive and complex applications to have their products authorized for sale. In a stunning turn of events, the FDA rejected nearly all applications from independent manufacturers, effectively shutting them out of the market. Meanwhile, major tobacco companies, with their vast resources and political influence, saw their products approved in record time.
Determining the exact total revenue collected by the FDA from rejected Premarket Tobacco Product Applications (PMTAs) is challenging due to the lack of publicly disclosed comprehensive data. However, we can provide an estimate based on available information.
As of March 31, 2024, the FDA reported receiving applications for approximately 26 million tobacco products.
Sources: Pharma bias on NIH, Big Tobacco games, Big tobacco motives NIH,
If 50% of the applications were rejected (13 million applications), the total cost to manufacturers would be approximately £130 billion.
WOW! Where has this money gone?
This favoritism effectively handed the vape industry to Big Tobacco, allowing them to dominate while small businesses were squeezed out. The UK now risks heading in the same direction. By failing to properly fund enforcement efforts and not supporting independent vape companies that prioritize ethical manufacturing and quality control, the government may be intentionally paving the way for major tobacco and pharmaceutical corporations to take over.
Government & Big Tobacco: A Convenient Partnership?
Given the history of political and financial connections between governments and tobacco giants, the vape industry’s current trajectory raises serious concerns. If independent businesses are pushed out by regulatory hurdles while tobacco giants navigate these changes with ease, we must ask: Is this mismanagement or intentional favoritism?
Who is being consulted on these policies? The same corporations that profit when vaping is restricted—pharmaceutical companies selling nicotine gums and patches, and tobacco companies rolling out their own vape products under government-friendly regulations. This cycle of influence ensures that regulatory decisions favor those with financial and political clout while consumers and independent businesses suffer.
With more vape bans and stricter regulations looming, the lack of funding for effective oversight means only companies with deep pockets will survive. Just as in the US, this could lead to Big Tobacco controlling the market, ensuring that smokers have fewer alternatives outside of their own nicotine products.
The Way Forward: Smarter Regulations, Not Corporate Influence
Instead of imposing outright bans and allowing illegal imports to flourish, the UK government must take a more strategic approach:
- Strengthen Border Control: Prevent illegal, high-capacity vapes from flooding the market with proper enforcement and inspections.
- Increase Regulatory Funding: Provide agencies with the budget and expertise needed to oversee the industry effectively.
- Support Ethical Vape Businesses: Work with reputable manufacturers and retailers to create a well-regulated, safe market rather than blanket bans that punish responsible businesses.
- Remove Corporate Influence: Ensure that Big Tobacco and pharmaceutical companies are not dictating vaping regulations to serve their own interests.
- Consumer Education: Inform the public about safe vaping practices and the importance of proper disposal to reduce environmental impact.
If the government continues its current trajectory, it risks repeating the mistakes made in the US—pushing independent businesses out while allowing Big Tobacco and Pharma to control the future of vaping. Instead of making vaping another monopoly, regulation must focus on quality control, consumer safety, and fair industry practices.
The UK still has an opportunity to get this right. The question is: Will policymakers listen, or is the system already rigged in favor of the biggest players?