//INFOGRAPHIC: ILLICIT NGP PUT CONSUMERS AT RISK

Transitioning adult smokers to next generation products (NGP) like vapes is an exciting opportunity to improve public health.

But this opportunity is under threat from a surge in illicit products – particularly counterfeit and non-compliant vapes.

Illegal vapes:

• Pose substantial risks to consumers and undermine broader public health.
• Damage trust in compliant products by responsible businesses, including our own blu vapes.

Illicit products often contain unsafe chemicals, non-compliant levels of nicotine, and lack proper labelling. They are also often cheaper, more accessible, and marketed in ways that irresponsibly target unintended audiences – especially youth.

The surge of illicit vapes across a range of markets is resulting in ever more regulatory scrutiny on NGP, which we encourage.

However, we don’t believe that flavour and category bans – which punish consumers and responsible manufacturers alike – are the answer; in fact, they inadvertently help the illicit trade to thrive.

Imperial Brands continues to advocate for a firm but pragmatic approach to NGP regulation.

We’ve created an infographic to highlight the scale of the illicit problem – and suggest some potential solutions.

You can read more below. Alternatively download a copy.

Follow us on LinkedIn and read more about our intentions to help create potentially healthier futures for our consumers on our corporate website. You are free to share this content with credit to Imperial Brands under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0) license.