UK: New parliamentary group funded by vaping industry

According to an investigation by British media outlet I News, the vaping industry has been funding a group of MPs in the UK since mid-April to try to weaken upcoming regulations around vaping products. The Independent British Vape Trade Association (IBVTA) has pledged £37,500 to a new All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on “Responsible Vaping”. In total, vaping companies have spent £470,000 with MPs and their supporters in Westminster over the past six years.[1].

Seventeen MPs and three peers have joined the APPG on responsible vaping, 13 of whom are Conservatives.

The APPG has said it intends to work with the government on regulating the vaping sector. This statement follows the passage of the Tobacco and Vaping Products Bill by the House of Commons on 16 April, which would, among other things, ban the sale of tobacco products to people born after 1^er April 2009[2].

Lobby group aims to weaken future vaping regulations

The tobacco and vaping industry has long promoted e-cigarettes as a tool to quit smoking in the UK, despite warnings from the World Health Organisation. Funded MPs, meeting in the APPG, have criticised plans to restrict flavourings in vaping products, saying such a move could lead to an increase in smoking – echoing claims made by the vaping industry. The new Tobacco and Vaping Products Bill also plans to ban disposable vaping products (puffs), introduce plain packaging for these products and change the presentation of vaping products in retail outlets so they do not appeal to younger people.

APPG chairman, Conservative MP Gareth Johnson, said he had " serious concerns about the vaping-related parts of the bill » and the « unintended consequences it could have in causing more people to smoke ".

The APPG said it expected the Department of Health to produce further assessments of the impact of future vaping measures and a full consultation before the House of Lords votes on the bill in June, with a view to final passage.

A group of parliamentarians very close to the tobacco and vaping industry

The APPG, of which the IBVTA is the sole funder with successive payments of £37,501 and £39,000, was listed for the first time in the parliamentary records updated last week. Sir Alistair Graham, former chairman of the Public Conduct Committee, said a parliamentary group funded by a vaping trade body “clearly” presented conflicts of interest.

An illustration of the links and their consequences is the case of APPG Vice-Chair, Labour MP for North Tyneside Mary Glindon. She attended a conference organised by the UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) last year, where she said: Our job is to make sure Labour listens and engages with industry to ensure vaping is an alternative for the 6.6 million people who still smoke in the UK. ".

Ms Glindon also sponsored an event in Parliament on behalf of Japan Tobacco International in May 2023. She explained that the event was organised to highlight a report commissioned by the company that contained “ Shocking statistics on the availability of illegal and non-compliant vapes ".

Other examples are cited: The APPG also includes Adam Afriyie, Conservative MP for Windsor, who has close ties to the vaping industry. Mr Afriyie was the keynote speaker at a UKVIA conference last year and was awarded the ‘most supportive’ vaping MP award.[3]. He accepted two all-expenses paid trips worth £18,720, funded by the Global Tobacco and Nicotine Forum, to attend industry events in the US and South Korea. He also hosted an event in Parliament in March 2023 on behalf of UKVIA.

Similarly, Mark Pawsey, a Conservative MP on the new group, was previously chair of a second APPG on vaping. That was dissolved last year. He is known to have received £12,001 from UKVIA. Since 2018, Mr Pawsey has sponsored three events in Parliament on behalf of UKVIA – the most recent was last year – and a fourth for Japan Tobacco International. Last May, Pawsey urged the government to use its attendance at the Conference of the Parties to the FCTC (COP10) in Panama to “stand up for vaping”. He said: “ WHO and the FCTC have stubbornly ignored evidence of the public health benefits of regulated nicotine products that do not burn tobacco – heated tobacco – ".

Conservatives, permeable to the industry lobby

The Conservative group remains very permeable to the tobacco industry. Since 2018, the Conservative Party has received £400,000 from Supreme 8 Limited, a company owned by Sandeep Singh Chadha, which sells vaping products.

The investigation also found that Sir Graham Brady, one of the Conservative Party’s most powerful MPs as chairman of the 1922 Committee, accepted a £600 dinner at the British Museum for himself and his wife, paid for by Japan Tobacco International (JTI) in 2019. David Morris and Craig Mackinlay, two other Conservative MPs, each received £360 tickets to a Queen concert in 2022, while Michael Tomlinson – now a minister – accepted £396 tickets to a Royal Academy of Arts event in 2019 from JTI.

Keywords: UK, lobby, interference, vaping, e-cigarette, Conservatives, parliamentarians, Japan Tobacco International

©Generation Without Tobacco

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[1] Alexa Phillips, Vaping companies have spent £470k on MPs and Westminster backers over the past six years, I News, published April 15, 2024, accessed April 18, 2024

[2] Tobacco-free generation, UK: Ban on tobacco sales to people born after 2009 approved by House of Commons, published on April 18, 2024, consulted the same day

[3] Tobacco-free generation, British MP rewarded by vaping industry, published on December 5, 2023, consulted on April 18, 2024