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The new chief executive of British American Tobacco says he wants governments to subject vaping and other tobacco alternatives to “better regulations”, as global controversy over the products threatens a growth area for the industry.
Tadeu Marroco told the Financial Times that the FTSE 100-listed owner of Lucky Strike and Dunhill was “very keen” to work with regulators to address problems such as vaping’s use among teenagers and its environmental impact.
“We need to have better regulations. We cannot ignore the benefit of migrating smokers out of cigarettes, but being unregulated, we have issues related to youth access and the environment,” Marroco said.
“The problem is that this is a phenomenon that has grown so fast and the regulators are always catching up. But there are clearly opportunities for us to improve the level playing field.”
The remarks from Marroco, who assumed the top job in May, come as a number of countries around the world crack down on flavoured e-cigarettes following calls from medical advisers. Countries including India, Thailand and Argentina have already implemented complete bans on all e-cigarettes.
NHS guidelines in the UK suggest vapes can help people stop smoking although they also state that the activity “is not completely risk-free”. The government said in April it would offer 1mn smokers vape starter kits. Selling vapes to under-18s is illegal.
It has consulted on banning flavoured single-use vapes in England after a flood of flavoured products came on to the market. Brands such as Chinese-owned Elf Bar sell brightly-coloured disposable products in a variety of flavours including “blue razz lemonade”, “strawberry banana” and “cotton candy ice”, deemed to be attractive to younger consumers.
Research by health charity Action on Smoking and Health published in June said 20.5 per cent of under-18s in the UK had tried vaping, up from 15.8 per cent in 2022.
Marroco did not go into specifics about what good regulation would look like, in his view. But he said that BAT, which launched its disposable vape Vuse Go in 2022, had been careful when selecting the colours and flavours for its devices with the goal of targeting adults. Its flavours include “passionfruit ice”, “strawberry kiwi” and “berry watermelon”.
The company trains retailers to ensure they are committed to avoiding selling to consumers under 18, he added.
However, Hazel Cheeseman, deputy chief executive of ASH, was sceptical of calls for regulation by one of the industry’s biggest players. “As far as I’m aware, they are not calling for limits on the promotion of products or limits to the branding of products,” she said.
BAT’s transition away from products such as cigarettes has been sluggish in comparison with US rival Philip Morris International, but there are signs this is shifting. In its most recent results the tobacco group said revenue from so-called reduced-harm products rose 27 per cent in the six months to June. They now account for 17 per cent of total sales and Marroco said the company was “well on track” to achieve 50mn customers in non-combustible products by 2030, up from the current 24mn.
Rae Maile, analyst at Panmure Gordon, argued that Marroco was “trying to make sure that there is fair competition . . . the perceived sins are being levelled against BAT and the other major manufacturers when it is not them who are the cause of the [underage vaping problem]”.