Prohibition of the sale and supply of single-use vapes Full Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment

Enforcement, Sanctions and Monitoring

225. Local authority officers (anticipated to be Trading Standards Officers) will be granted enforcement powers in order to enforce the Scottish regulations, which will mitigate against the risk associated with an illicit market for single-use vapes.

226. The UK Government previously set out an intention as part of plans for the Tobacco and Vaping Bill to allocate £30 million of new funding a year. This was to be provided to bolster enforcement agencies, including Border Force and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), which would support enforcement in Scotland. The upcoming UK General Election has caused some uncertainty around funding for enforcement, but the Scottish Government remains firmly committed to banning single-use vapes and addressing any complexities to achieve long-term benefits for communities across Scotland.

227. We will continue to collaborate closely with Trading Standards to thoroughly understand the regulatory burdens and to assess the potential benefits of the proposed measure. We recognise there may be initial challenges but anticipate significant cost savings, such as reduced administrative expenses from no longer regulating single-use vapes in stores, along with the anticipated decrease in waste collection costs and reduced incidence of waste fires.

228. Possible non-monetised costs to local authorities include those caused by the illicit market. At present, there is a dearth of data on the illicit vaping products and activities. Primary research is needed to look further into understanding the illicit vapes market and to quantify these costs. The illicit market may cause negative environmental impacts through the creation of unsafe products that are a health and fire risk to consumers and collection services, and create enforcement costs for local authorities. Costs to ensure compliance could include disposal costs, legal costs and costs to seize illicit products.