The UK government plans to ban disposable vapes to protect children’s health and create a smoke-free generation, given their popularity among young people.
Disposable vapes are single-use devices that contain nicotine and various flavours and are often sold in colourful and attractive packaging. They have been linked to a rise in youth vaping, with recent figures showing that the number of children using vapes in the past three years has tripled and that 9% of 11 to 15-year-olds now use vapes.
The government said that disposable vapes are a “key driver behind the alarming rise in youth vaping” and that the long-term health impacts of vaping are unknown. The nicotine contained within them can be highly addictive and can cause withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety, trouble concentrating and headaches¹.
The ban on disposable vapes is expected to be introduced across the UK. It will be accompanied by other measures to prevent vapes from being marketed to children and to target underage sales. These include:
- New powers to restrict vape flavours marketed explicitly at children, such as cookies, jam and energy drinks, require manufacturers to produce plainer, less visually appealing packaging¹².
- New powers to change how vapes are displayed in shops, moving them out of sight of children and away from products that appeal to them like sweets¹².
- New fines for shops in England and Wales that sell vapes illegally to children and more enforcement by trading standards officers.
- A ban on vaping alternatives, such as nicotine pouches, which are small white pouches that are placed between the lip and gum and release nicotine without tobacco. These products are currently legal to sell to under-18s but are also highly addictive¹².
The government also reiterated its commitment to introduce legislation that will make it illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009 as part of its attempt to create a “smoke-free generation”¹².
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “As any parent or teacher knows, one of the most worrying trends at the moment is the rise in vaping among children, and so we must act before it becomes endemic. We want to protect our children from the harms of nicotine and create a smoke-free generation that lives longer, healthier lives.”¹²
The announcement follows a public consultation launched in October last year by the UK government and devolved administrations to gauge public attitudes to measures being proposed to reduce levels of smoking and vaping¹².
While vaping is substantially less harmful than smoking and can play a role in helping adult smokers quit, the government said that children should never vape. It also said that it will continue to monitor the evidence on the health effects of vaping and will take further action if needed.
The government said a further public consultation will take place to decide which flavours should be banned and how refillable vapes will be sold.
The ban on disposable vapes is expected to come into force within six months of the timing being confirmed, and retailers will be given six months to implement it.
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