Trade bodies welcome drug regs rethink

17 March 2022

Equipment manufacturers

The rule changes could impact 4,000 print businesses

Print industry representatives have hailed a meeting with the Home Office last week as a “breakthrough” in their quest to amend planned changes to the Misuse of Drugs Act that would effectively ban certain ingredients crucial to the manufacture of inks and press chemistry.

Last month, it emerged that from 15 June tighter controls would be placed on gamma butyrolactone (GBL) and 1,4-butanediol (BDO). This would have included the removal of an exemption previously granted under the Misuse of Drugs Act that would mean industrial users, such as inks and coatings manufacturers and also print businesses, would require a controlled drugs licence.

However, at the end of February the GPMA (Graphics & Print Media Alliance) wrote to Kit Malthouse, minister of state at the Home Office, and Lee Rowley, parliamentary under-secretary at BEIS, to explain the damaging impact of GBL and BDO being reclassified as Class B drugs.

The body, which is a consortium of trade associations that represent companies operating in the graphics and print media industry supply chain, warned that one of the inadvertent consequences of reclassifying would impact around £1bn of print.

It is understood that the government initially thought fewer than 70 companies would be affected, but the GMPA highlighted that GBL and BDO are used as industrial chemicals in products including certain types of inkjet inks, such as eco-solvent, and the GPMA said nearer 4,000 print businesses would likely be impacted.

As a result of the GPMA’s intervention, a meeting with Home Office officials took place last Thursday (10 March) where representatives put forward their concerns. GPMA members include the BCF, BPIF (CEO Charles Jarrold is the current GPMA chair), CPI, IPIA and Picon.

Jarrold said: “We understand and support the government’s intent to legislate to prevent the misuse of GBL and BDO but we needed to find a fair, sensible and workable way to do that without being detrimental to the printing industry and other sectors.

“We appreciate the support we have had from BEIS and from the Home Office, who listened to our feedback and have indicated that they intend to respond in such a way that the graphic arts sector can continue to operate effectively moving forward.”

When taken as an illicit drug GBL is also known as liquid ecstasy and has been used in drink spiking.

As well as GPMA member associations, representatives from wide-format kit manufacturers and resellers including Epson and Hybrid Services also attended.