Tory MP Adam Afriyie who repeatedly promoted vaping didn't declare wife's shares in vape retailer

Aug 28, 2023

A Conservative MP has been accused of breaching lobbying rules after he pushed ministers to put vaping at the heart of the UK's anti-smoking drive without declaring that his family stands to profit from disposable vapes, i can reveal.

Adam Afriyie, the Tory MP for Windsor, has spoken out in the House of Commons on numerous occasions about the benefits of vaping as a tool to quit smoking.

He is also vice chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Vaping, which lobbied the Government in the run-up to its announcement last month that vapes will play a crucial role in the UK's new anti-smoking drive.

However, i can reveal that Mr Afriyie's wife is a shareholder in a firm that sells disposable vapes, with Labour describing the revelation as a "lobbying scandal" as it called for a ban on MPs acting as lobbyists.

Mr Afriyie is the chair of the advisory board of Elite Growth, a medical cannabis firm that sells disposable vapes, in an unpaid role that he initially failed to declare in his financial interests. The Tory MP has since declared the role after he was accused of lobbying Parliament about the benefits of cannabis-related products in December 2021.

But he has not declared publicly that his wife, Tracy-Jane Afriyie, is also a shareholder in Elite Growth, which has described the vaping sector as an area of "huge growth potential" for the company.

Elite Growth's retail arm sells Moodbar disposable vapes through the Nebulos vaping brand – owned by the same co-founder as Elite Growth.

Mr Afriyie's wife has held a five per cent stake in Elite Growth since at least May 2022, a statement filed by the company reveals. It makes her the third-largest shareholder.

The company sells both CBD vapes and nicotine-based vapes, which Nebulos describes as "ideal for people switching" from cigarettes. The nicotine-based Moodbars offer customers 600 puffs and 20mg of nicotine salts – the strongest nicotine strength available in the UK.

Moodbar advertises its candy-flavoured and nicotine-based vapes as smoking cessation tools, with the company claiming customers can "quit smoking with Moodbar".

i can also reveal that Mr Afriyie registered a £10,338 donation for an all-expenses-paid visit to speak at the Global Tobacco and Nicotine Forum (GTNF) in Washington last September.

Mr Afriyie told i he did not receive a speaker's fee for the event, and that the GTNF paid for his accommodation, food, travel and a US visa, which he later declared as a donation.

The Tory MP told industry leaders at the GTNF's annual conference, whose members include Big Tobacco giants British American Tobacco, Imperial Brands and Philip Morris International, that "Britain is open for business".

According to a review of the event by the Broughton Group, a UK organisation that attended the summit, Mr Afriyie told audience members "that when it comes to smoking cessation products, Britain is a gateway to the world".

It comes as the Government announced a crackdown on the sale of vaping products to under-18s last month, saying it was "concerned about the rise in youth vaping, particularly the increasing use of disposable vaping products".

But it also said vaping would form a critical role in the UK's new anti-smoking drive, with a million smokers across the country set to receive free vape kits on the NHS later this year as part of its new "swap to stop" scheme.

Labour has accused Mr Afriyie of "potentially profiting from Government policies" that he helped drive.

Anneliese Dodds MP, Chair of the Labour party, told i: "This is the third Conservative lobbying scandal in a week. This deluge of sleaze shows no sign of abating.

"There is absolutely no reason why any MP should be in a position where they can be both an MP and a lobbyist, and potentially profiting from Government policies."

Ms Dodds said Labour would "end this practice and clean up politics once and for all", as she accused Rishi Sunak of underestimating the damage that lobbying scandals have inflicted on the Conservative party.

It comes after Tory MP Bim Afolami was criticised last week for failing to declare that he was paid £2,000 a month to chair a pressure group lobbying Mr Sunak.

Meanwhile Steve Brine, the Conservative chair of the Commons health committee, was found by the standards watchdog earlier this week to have breached the rules twice by failing to properly declare a paid advisory role.

It has shed renewed scrutiny over lobbying by MPs, who are not permitted to carry out paid lobbying that could deliver financial benefit to themselves or clients.

i can reveal that Mr Afriyie has also spoken at numerous events hosted by the UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) – the lobby group for the vaping industry – since his wife became a shareholder in a vape retailer.

The MP hosted a UKVIA event in Parliament's Churchill Room earlier this year, where he warned vaping industry leaders "there is a real danger that the [vaping] industry may become so regulated only a few players will remain; worse still, some or all of these product categories may be banned", according to the UKVIA.

Mr Afriyie also wrote on Twitter in February, ahead of the Government's announcement that it will send out free vapes to smokers, that "smoking kills. Vaping saves lives. The UK Government must act now by promoting good public health [information] on the the harm-reduction benefits of vaping compared to smoking".

Professor Anna Gilmore, director of the Tobacco Control Research Group at the University of Bath, said Mr Afriyie appeared to have "a clear conflict of interest".

"He has failed to declare that his family stands to gain financially from favourable policies on vaping," she told i, adding that Mr Afriyie's behaviour fell "well short of the standards of integrity required of MPs".

"His conduct and the funding and organisation of that APPG should be urgently investigated," she said.

Rose Whiffen, senior research officer at non-profit organisation Transparency International UK, suggested Mr Afriyie's failure to declare his wife's shares in a firm that profits from vaping could erode public trust.

"Parliamentarians should scrupulously avoid blurring the lines between their personal interests and the public good," she said. "Transparency is the first step to mitigate against conflicts of interest, and when MPs are not full and frank in their declarations this can lead to suspicion."

The GTNF said: "Adam Afriyie MP spoke at GTNF 2022 in Washington DC in his capacity as the Vice Chair of the UK's All-Party Parliamentary Group for Vaping.

"Adam's speech on the UK model for tobacco harm reduction, and the role vaping plays, was very well received by a global audience of public health experts, scientific researchers, regulators, industry executives, and UK and international journalists.

"GTNF looks forward to welcoming Adam again in September at this year's conference in South Korea, when his remarks will no doubt receive an equally enthusiastic response."

Mr Afriyie said: "The UK's progress in harm reduction is fantastic and, as a Vice Chair of the APPG on vaping, I am always pleased to accept speaking invitations to share our UK success story worldwide."I personally quit smoking through vaping 15 years ago, have spoken on the subject in Parliament since 2016 and will continue to encourage the uptake of smoking alternatives. Indeed, friends will tell you that I’m a bit of a bore on the subject!

"As the independent Khan Review noted, almost 6m people still smoke in England and smoking remains the single biggest cause of preventable illness and death. My crusade is to ensure that legislation is evidence-based and led by the science."