Vaping products - tightening rules on advertising and promotion: consultation 2022

Summary of consultation questions

Do you support the proposal:

1. that vaping products should be used only as a cessation aid and exposure should be reduced for non-smokers (Q1);

2. to extend restrictions on advertising these products in the ways described (Q2);

3. with proposal that in-store promotional displays should be banned (Q3);

4. to make brand-sharing an offence (Q4);

5. to make free distribution of vaping products an offence (Q5a);

6. that nominal pricing of vaping products should be an offence (Q5b);

7. to make sponsorship agreements in respect of vaping products an offence (Q6);

8. to introduce exemptions to allow advertising at trade-only events (Q7);

9. that fines and penalties should mirror those already in place for tobacco products (Q8a);

10. that defences should be as laid out as stated (Q8b); and

11. that officers of local authorities should be responsible for enforcement (Q8c).

We also ask you to indicate:

1. the impact the proposed policy would have on individuals (Q9a);

2. your view on the impact of the proposed policy on people living with socio-economic disadvantage (Q9b); and

3. identify communities or groups who may be impacted by these proposals (Q9c).

Finally, at Question 10, we offer you an opportunity to comment further on the proposals.

Responding to this consultation

We are inviting responses to this consultation by April 28, 2022.

Please respond to this consultation using the Scottish Government’s consultation hub, Citizen Space (Scottish Government consultations).

You can save and return to your responses while the consultation is still open. Please ensure that consultation responses are submitted before the closing date of April 28, 2022.

Alternatively, you can e-mail your response to: tobaccocontrolteam@gov.scot.

If you are unable to respond online, please complete the Respondent Information Form (see “Handling your Response” below) and send it to:

The Health (Tobacco, Nicotine etc. and Care) (Scotland) Act 2016

Consultation on Regulating Domestic Advertising and Promotion of Nicotine Vapour Products in Scotland

Tobacco Control Team
Scottish Government
St Andrews House, 3E
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG

Handling your response

If you respond using the consultation hub, you will be directed to the About You page before submitting your response. Please indicate how you wish your response to be handled and, in particular, whether you are content for your response to be published. If you ask for your response not to be published we will regard it as confidential and we will treat it accordingly.

All respondents should be aware that the Scottish Government is subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and would therefore have to consider any requests made to it under the Act for information relating to responses made to this consultation.

If you are unable to respond via Citizen Space, please complete and return the Respondent Information Form included in this document.

To find out how we handle your personal data, please see our privacy policy - Scottish Government Privacy Policy.

Next steps in the process

Where respondents have given permission for their response to be made public, and after we have checked that they contain no potentially defamatory material, responses will be made available to the public at http://consult.gov.scot. If you use the consultation hub to respond, you will receive a copy of your response via email.

Following the closing date, all responses will be analysed and considered along with any other available evidence to help us. Responses will be published where we have been given permission to do so. An analysis report will also be made available.

Comments and complaints

If you have any comments about how this consultation exercise has been conducted, please send them to the contact address above.

Scottish Government consultation process

Consultation is an essential part of the policy-making process. It gives us the opportunity to consider your opinion and expertise on a proposed area of work.

You can find all our consultations online: http://consult.gov.scot. Each consultation

details the issues under consideration, as well as a way for you to give us your views, either online, by email or by post.

Responses will be analysed and used as part of the decision making process, along with a range of other available information and evidence. We will publish a report of this analysis for every consultation. Depending on the nature of the consultation exercise the responses received may:

• indicate the need for policy development or review
• inform the development of a particular policy
• help decisions to be made between alternative policy proposals
• be used to finalise legislation before it is implemented

While details of particular circumstances described in a response to a consultation exercise may usefully inform the policy process, consultation exercises cannot address individual concerns and comments, which should be directed to the relevant public body.