Public Houses: Electronic Cigarettes

Between 13 February and 8 May, the Department consulted on proposals to extend vape-free requirements to all indoor settings in England that are already smoke-free, including pubs. The aim of these proposals is to help protect children and medically vulnerable people who may otherwise be exposed to prolonged contact, through no choice of their own, with second-hand aerosols from vaping.

In designing the proposals, we have carefully considered the potential burden that they may introduce on businesses and have sought to mitigate these where possible, including for example through avoiding administrative burdens such as compliance reporting. In the consultation stage impact assessment published alongside the consultation we did, however, assess that our proposals would introduce some regulatory burden on pubs and other relevant indoor settings, primarily in relation to one-off familiarisation and signage costs. We also expect the proposals would deliver a range of benefits, particularly wider public health benefits. We sought feedback on the analysis included within the impact assessment during the consultation and are currently considering the responses we received.