Scottish e-cigarette retailer VPZ has warned of an alarming rise in “Big Puff” e-cigarette devices that will be able to circumvent a ban on single-use e-cigarettes in June.
Greig Fowler, director of operations at VPZ, said “Big Puff” e-cigarette products, which can carry up to six times more vaping fluid than the average single-use product, had flooded the UK market in the past six months due to a “grey area” in regulations. Rechargeable and refillable designs are added on the surface to circumvent the relevant regulations. Although these devices have a longer service life and are equipped with sockets, they still use non-replaceable coils inside, which are no different from disposable products.
Fowler noted that while UK health regulators approve new devices every week, some devices have vaping fluid capacities of up to 12 milliliters or more, far exceeding the legal limit of 2 milliliters for single-use e-cigarettes.
“We are probably the most unpopular company in the e-cigarette industry right now because we are the only professional e-cigarette store that refuses to sell ‘Big Mouth’ disposable devices.” This is a huge step backwards for the industry.”
He said overseas e-cigarette devices were barely regulated when they were registered with the UK Medicines and Health Food Regulatory Agency (MHRA), and since the announcement of a UK wide ban on single-use e-cigarettes in 2024, the popularity of such “large quantity” e-cigarettes has risen rapidly.
In the UK, about 3 million “big mouth” e-cigarette devices are sold every week, and about 5 million single-use e-cigarettes are sold. VPZ stressed that if nothing is done, these “grey areas” could affect more teenagers in the next two years, and could also allow more irresponsible retailers to break the law. The UK’s Tobacco and e-cigarette Bill is still under review, but any significant changes could take 18 to 24 months, not until 2027.
Gillian Mackay, health spokeswoman for the Scottish Green Party, said the single-use e-cigarette ban was an important step for public health, but the impact of the ban could be undermined by “large numbers” of e-cigarette devices.