Aug 3, 2026 · 1 hr 4 min · 12 segments
Better Retailing Podcast: Season 3, Episode 7 *"And now you're just a guy with a unicorn"* Welcome to the Better Retailing Podcast, with award-winning retailers Natalie Lightfoot and Atul Sodha…
Atul SodhaPanelist
Natalie LightfootPanelist
Stefan ApplebyHostLouise BanhamHost
We were at Parliament last week with regards to the vaping and the generational ban, which is going ahead in January, isn't it? So the most interesting bit about that whole scenario of being there for the lunch and having the last word with the lords there...
was the fact that Rupert, who is at the TMA, read out a starter and basically it begs belief because I'm never going to be as eloquent as he was.
But from what I could understand, all of the consultations gone through and it's happening in January.
Basically, in the consultation, you'd think the word consultation would mean all parties involved, but anything that retailers or anyone within the industry that has anything to do with tobacco doesn't get heard.
What do you mean they don't get heard? People can respond to the consultation, right? Yeah, but they won't take it into account.
A generational ban is better for society and it's going to hit, regardless of all of the impacts that it's going to have on retailers and all of the issues that we've spoken about.
I think there was another Lord that was absolutely gobsmacked when I said to him, I could have a situation where I'm trying to identify a 34 and a 35-year-old and one will be able to and one won't be able to in the future.
And he was like, And I was like, wait, you knew about this? When you kind of, it's just crazy.
When I needed the bionic lord that knows everything about me, he wasn't there.
Were you discussing the new kind of consultation on the vape display and flavours and all of that stuff? Well, we don't know what that
But, I mean, it's got... you know, potential plain packaging, potential display ban, removal of anything, any flavours that aren't straight down the line.
So, you know, fizzy, you know, all of that, you know, anything that sounds a bit more exciting than lemon and lime or whatever else is.
Listen, no one wants to appeal to kids, right? But this very morning, this very morning as I was serving, a lady comes in, you wouldn't have thought for one second that she's not someone that conforms with life as such.
We were at Parliament last week with regards to the vaping and the generational ban, which is going ahead in January, isn't it? So the most interesting bit about that whole scenario of being there for the lunch and having the last word with the lords there...
was the fact that Rupert, who is at the TMA, read out a starter and basically it begs belief because I'm never going to be as eloquent as he was.
But from what I could understand, all of the consultations gone through and it's happening in January.
Basically, in the consultation, you'd think the word consultation would mean all parties involved, but anything that retailers or anyone within the industry that has anything to do with tobacco doesn't get heard.
What do you mean they don't get heard? People can respond to the consultation, right? Yeah, but they won't take it into account.
A generational ban is better for society and it's going to hit, regardless of all of the impacts that it's going to have on retailers and all of the issues that we've spoken about.
I think there was another Lord that was absolutely gobsmacked when I said to him, I could have a situation where I'm trying to identify a 34 and a 35-year-old and one will be able to and one won't be able to in the future.
And he was like, And I was like, wait, you knew about this? When you kind of, it's just crazy.
When I needed the bionic lord that knows everything about me, he wasn't there.
Were you discussing the new kind of consultation on the vape display and flavours and all of that stuff? Well, we don't know what that
But, I mean, it's got... you know, potential plain packaging, potential display ban, removal of anything, any flavours that aren't straight down the line.
So, you know, fizzy, you know, all of that, you know, anything that sounds a bit more exciting than lemon and lime or whatever else is.
Listen, no one wants to appeal to kids, right? But this very morning, this very morning as I was serving, a lady comes in, you wouldn't have thought for one second that she's not someone that conforms with life as such.
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