Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency conducts physical tests on product samples when it scrutinises notified e-cigarette products.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) do not assess the environmental sustainability of vapes or e-cigarettes when reviewing product notifications. However, producers of vapes placing more than five tonnes of such equipment on the United Kingdom market each year are obliged to register with the waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) producer compliance scheme.

If producers do not register with this scheme, the Environment Agency can take enforcement action. We are working with the Environment Agency to remind vape suppliers of the regulations related to the WEEE scheme and encourage registration.

While the MHRA is responsible for assessing data submitted by suppliers through the notification of products, this does not include testing products. Prior to submitting a notification, data must meet the minimum mandatory requirements, including declarations requiring the producer to take full responsibility for the product. Once these automated mandatory checks have been confirmed, the submission can be assessed by the MHRA for compliance with the regulations.