As an American, I would not think of a TASER as a firearm whatsoever. They sell combination TASER/Flashlights at the checkout in the local hardware store for about $30. (not to be confused with the police TASER that actually shoots wires across the room, those are regulated here). Pepper spray likewise is common, my wife's company had a giveaway at lunch one and put out a huge box of them for everyone to grab for free. This predictably degenerated into a few people wanting to see how bad the stuff smelled and stinking up the office.
BTW, the TSA found people trying to carry guns on airplanes illegally almost 7,000 times last year! I bet that is about 6.999 more than the UK.