Filshill’s AI tool promising stores ‘comprehensive advice’ on the disposable vape ban actually provided guidance that would put stores in breach of several laws.

When announced on 2 May, the Scottish wholesaler Filshill said its AI-powered Vapora chatbot would give “comprehensive advice” and could answer “everything you might want to ask about the disposable vape ban”.

Users simply email questions to vape.questions@filshill.co.uk and Vapora responds within minutes with answers.

Better Retailing put Vapora to the test with 12 questions about the 1 June ban on single-use vapes. While the tool correctly advised on issues such as the ban start-date, age restrictions and storage of unsold stock, exactly a quarter of the responses contained information that could put a retailer following the advice in breach of the law.

For instance, the AI tool suggested pods with a 5% nicotine strength would be legal to sell, stating: “Pods with a 5% nicotine concentration would not comply if they are part of a single-use vape system. Ensure these pods fit within a refillable and rechargeable system.” In fact, any pod or e-liquid must contain less than 20mg per ml, equivalent to 2% strength.

When asked whether retailers can continue to sell vape devices with ‘built-in’ coils, Vapora responded: “You can continue to sell vapes with built-in coils as long as they are rechargeable and compliant with the refillable or replaceable pod system requirements.” However, the ban on single-use vapes actually requires all vape devices to have replaceable, rather than built-in coils.

Vapora also incorrectly claimed that vapes containing illegal cannabis compound THC “remain legal for sale”.

Responding to Better Retailing, a spokesperson for Filshill said: “Throughout this process we have worked with suppliers and customers to ensure the information was accurate, asking the bot thousands of test questions. There will always be questions you can ask to any AI Bot about a subject, using a cannabis-based question for example, when there won’t be clear answers forthcoming. However, that involves looking for specific flaws, these questions are highly unlikely to have come up in a normal scenario.

“We would have thought as a retailer-based publication you would have wanted to support retailers by being collaborative and resolving issues rather than compounding them with negativity surrounding a mechanism designed to support challenges around a new legislation.”

JW Filshill launches AI tool to help retailers prepare for single-use vape ban

The errors come despite the source material relied on by the AI chatbot being accurate. This source material includes an eighteen page brochure created by Filshill for KeyStore retailers, advice from charity Action on Smoking and Health and the full legislation as shown in parliamentary records.

Filshill’s ‘exceptionally well received’ brochure on the ban, while originally produced just for its own symbol retailers, is now available to all shop owners – a decision made by Filshill in order to support the wider independent convenience sector.

In the same statement announcing the chatbot, Filshill warned stores of the consequences of breaking the disposable vape ban, which it said included Fixed Monetary penalties, starting at £200 (£100 if paid within 28 days). Repeat offending can lead to stores being banned from selling vapes as well as larger fines and potential imprisonment.

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