UK Supermarkets Funding Group to Lobby Against Disposable E-cigarettes Ban

According to a report by the British media outlet inews, Sainsbury's, Asda, and other supermarkets are funding a group that is lobbying MPs to prevent a ban on disposable e-cigarettes and to weaken related regulations. These supermarkets are members of the Convenience Store Association, an industry organization that has raised concerns with Parliament about the tobacco and e-cigarette legislation currently being debated.

The convenience store association has received annual subscription fees of 120,000 yuan from four tobacco and e-cigarette companies, which are British American Tobacco, Japan Tobacco International, Philip Morris International, and Imperial Brands. Additionally, four other e-cigarette companies have also provided the organization with a subscription fee of 74,000 pounds.

Members of the convenience store association include Asda, Sainsbury's, and Waitrose. Morrisons, Co-Op, Southern Co-Op, and Spar are also represented members of the group.

Despite being members of the Convenience Stores Association, Asda and Waitrose have stated their support for banning disposable e-cigarettes. Large retailers pay up to £17,410 annually for membership.

Deborah Arnott, Chief Executive of Action on Smoking and Health, expressed concern that the American Cancer Society's relationship with the tobacco industry is too close, and they are worried about listening to the industry rather than members. In an email sent to lawmakers, ACS stated that they hope lawmakers will seek assurance from the government that regulations restricting the display of e-cigarette products will not be as strict as those for tobacco products.

The convenience store association is also urging businesses to write to their representatives to oppose the proposed disposable e-cigarette ban, expected to take effect in April 2025. The industry organization provides a contact form on their website to streamline the process, allowing visitors to input their postal code and then automatically populate their representative's email address and a pre-written draft for them to send.

The e-cigarette company provides annual funding for the convenience store association.

The annual subscription fee of £120,000 comes from British American Tobacco, Japan Tobacco International, Philip Morris International, and Imperial Brands.

Additionally, £30,000 came from the e-cigarette distributor and wholesaler Phoenix2Retail.

30,000 pounds are provided by e-cigarette manufacturer Deep Vaping (Green Fun Alliance).

An additional £14,000 came from e-cigarette manufacturers JUUL and Aquios.

The tobacco and e-cigarette bill currently being discussed in parliament will prohibit disposable e-cigarettes and give the government the authority to restrict e-cigarette flavors, introduce plain packaging, and change the way e-cigarettes are displayed in stores to prevent enticing children. The legislation also includes smoking bans.

Ms. Arnot said that the results of voting conducted in January this year on nearly 1000 independent retail outlets, including over 500 convenience stores, showed that the majority of businesses supported the bill.

Rosemary Hiscock is a researcher at the Tobacco Control Research Group at the University of Bath. She said that the tobacco industry usually tries to influence government policies through other organizations.

David Strain, Chairman of the British Medical Association's Scientific Committee, stated that disposable e-cigarettes are harmful to the environment and target young people through "predatory marketing strategies," exposing them to the dangers of nicotine addiction.

Libby Peake, the policy lead of the Green Alliance think tank, said the banquet "should not be influenced by the commercial interests that profit from harm to the health of children and the environment nationwide.