The withdrawal of over-filled vape products from UK stores has highlighted a “glaring failure” within the UK vaping regulatory framework, according to the UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA).
Over the past month, Elf Bar and Lost Mary products have been taken off sale due to tank capacities above the legal limit for the UK market.
Speaking after a joint statement from UK vape regulator the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) revealed that overfilled products being removed from sale included both Elf Bar and Lost Mary brands, UKVIA director general John Dunne said it is “crystal clear that approving vape products without testing for compliance, either pre- or post-approval, simply doesn’t work”.
“Whilst we understand that mistakes can happen, everything possible must be done to ensure that they are few and far between because, as we have seen in recent weeks, the reputation of the whole industry depends on it,” said Dunne. “There should be an active programme of testing incorporated into the MHRA approvals process, backed up by random spot checks to ensure that not only are products fully compliant when they first enter the market but that standards are not allowed to drop over time.
“We also need to see swift and decisive action by the relevant authorities when any failure to comply with the law is uncovered so that mistakes can be rectified quickly and that manufacturers, distributors and retailers know exactly what action they need to take.”
Dunne said to minimise confusion and maintain public confidence, non-compliance must be taken seriously throughout the supply chain.
“The MHRA should give serious consideration to suspending ECID numbers from products found to be non-compliant until such time as it is satisfied that the problem has been rectified,” he said. “This has also highlighted the need for one universal standard for compliance testing such as e-liquid volumes. The UKVIA has seen the results of independent testing of vape products and it is worrying that we are seeing conflicting results, depending on the type of tests being carried out.”
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