relatively easy to carry around. This is why so many smokers
gravitate towards cigalikes and pod systems when they make
the initial switch to vaping. Louise Edge of Greenpeace UK, said: “It seems the government
has been vocally backing ambitious recycling targets in
Westminster while quietly opposing them in Brussels.”
The IBVTA has been vocal in their opposition to the 10ml bottle
regulation since the beginning. Shortly after the TPD came into
effect in May 2017, the IBVTA’s Richard Hyslop, said: The removal of maximum e-liquid bottle sizes would be a
double-headed PR slam-dunk for the government as it would
provide proof of both its commitment to reducing plastic waste
and the harms caused by tobacco-smoking.
“If you’re looking at vaping compared to smoking, with smoking
you just take a cigarette out of the packet and light it. With
vaping you’ve got to have all this kit and keep refilling because
the tank is so small and the bottle size is so much smaller.”
There is significant support for an all-out repeal of the TDP
post-Brexit, or at least a significantly-amended and more
proportionate policy that removes the restrictions on bottle and
tank sizes. Meanwhile, the government’s claim that they intend
to increase recycling rates has been called into question.
In December last year, the European council and parliament
agreed to aim to recycle 65% of urban waste by 2035, a
figure already watered down from 70% by 2030. According to
the documents obtained by Greenpeace and reported in the
Guardian, the government opposed the plans.
Brexit will provide us with an opportunity to rethink e-cigarette
regulations. Given how pro-vaping our government is
compared to those of many other countries, one would hope
that regulations would be loosened, rather than tightened.
Larger bottle sizes would not only save vapers a significant
amount of money each year, they would reduce our nation’s
carbon footprint.
We often repeat Public Health England’s claim that vaping
is 95% less harmful than smoking. Harm-reduction is what
vaping is all about. Now let’s seize the opportunity to also
reduce the harm plastics can do to our planet.
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