MPs including Adam Afriyie, Mary Glindon and Gareth Johnson have joined a new group in Parliament funded by vaping firmsThe Independent British Vape Trade Association has committed £37,500 as the sole backer of a new all-party parliamentary group for “responsible vaping”, which was registered last week.
The vaping industry’s contribution is the latest in a series of donations to MPs and parliamentary groups amounting to £470,000 over the last six years,Vaping companies have long pushed for the promotion of e-cigarettes as a tool to stop smoking in the UK despite concerns from the World Health Organization.published this month has cast doubt on their benefits but the Government has said it will continue to promote them to smokers.
He said: “The potential adoption of stricter options on flavours risks undermining public health goals, endangering progress towards a smoke-free future. The funding is to pay for a secretariat to administer the group, which includes handling events and the publication of reports. A website for the group states it was founded to “demonstrate the positive benefits” of vaping “in support of smoking cessation”.: “These close links between parliamentarians and the vaping industry are concerning especially when Government is considering reforming its policies on smoking.
The MP told the trade body: “Our job is to make sure that Labour is listening and engaging with the industry to make sure vaping is an alternative for the 6.6 million people in the UK who still smoke.” She said the event was held to highlight a report it had commissioned containing “shocking statistics on the availability of illegal and non-compliant vapes”.
Ms Glindon said: “I proudly plead guilty to being vocal in my support of vaping as a smoking cessation tool. I’m in good company on this. The NHS also says that nicotine vaping is substantially less harmful than smoking.” Since 2018 Mr Pawsey has sponsored three events in Parliament on behalf of the UKVIA – the most recent was last year – and a fourth for Japan Tobacco International.
A spokeswoman for Adam Afriyie said he never received any direct payment from the Global Tobacco and Nicotine Forum and the sum declared represents the costs of attending the events.