The UK government has confirmed that the sale of disposable vapes will be banned in England from June 2025 to prevent environmental damage and protect children’s health. Similar bans are expected to be introduced by the devolved governments in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The move was originally announced by the previous government in January but was not enacted before the general election.
Disposable vapes are difficult to recycle and usually end up in landfill, where their batteries can leak harmful waste like battery acid, lithium, and mercury into the environment. Batteries thrown into household waste also cause hundreds of fires in bin lorries and waste-processing centres every year. The Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs said almost five million single-use vapes were either littered or thrown into general waste each week last year, a nearly four-fold increase on the year before.
It is already illegal to sell any vape to anyone under 18, but the previous government claimed that disposable vapes were a “key driver” behind a rise in youth vaping. Disposables, which are often sold in smaller, more colourful packaging than rechargeable ones, have become the “product of choice for the majority of kids vaping today”, according to Public Health Minister Andrew Gwynne. However, John Dunne, director general of the UK Vaping Industry Association, warned that a ban on disposable vapes could fuel illegal sales.
The government plans to introduce legislation to implement the ban, allowing retailers time to sell existing stock. The devolved governments have all announced an intention to bring in similar bans, and the UK government said it was working with them to align the dates on which the bans come into force. The measure is separate from the government’s plans to end smoking by banning the sale of cigarettes to anyone born after January 2009
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