Disposable vapes will be banned in Scotland using powers devolved to the Scottish parliament. The Scottish government has backed the recommendations of a four-nation consultation on vaping and smoking in young people, which included restrictions on vape flavours and promotion, as well as changing age limits for buying tobacco. Most measures will be legislated for on a UK-wide basis, with preparations for Northern Ireland to follow, but the ban on single-use vapes requires a separate Scottish law.
Changes to tobacco sales laws will also be introduced which ban the sale of tobacco to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009. Local authorities will be given new powers to issue fixed penalty notices for those who breach the age of sale legislation for both tobacco products and vapes.
The Scottish government report estimates that around 78,000 under-18s, or 22%, used a vape last year, with more young people using them than smoking cigarettes. According to a review by Zero Waste Scotland, up to 26 million single-use vapes were consumed and thrown away in Scotland last year, with around 10% littered and more than half disposed of incorrectly.
Public Health Minister, Jenni Minto, said the ban, which is part of a programme for government commitment, is necessary because disposable vapes are a threat to public health and the environment, from litter on streets to the risk of fires in waste facilities. The Scottish approach to tackling the disposal of vapes follows a similar approach to banning plastic stemmed cotton buds and microbeads
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