Disposable vapes ban ‘will backfire'

Telegraph

31-05-2025

The Government's disposable vape ban could backfire and cause people to return to smoking, experts have warned.
The ban comes into effect from Sunday and will make it illegal for any retailer, from corner shops to supermarkets, to sell the single-use vapes either online or in store.
Shops will only be to sell reusable vapes because of concerns about the soaring number of single-use vapes being used in schools and the 'avalanche' of rubbish the devices produce.
But industry leaders warned that the ban may have the 'serious unintended consequence' of losing the vape's original purpose as an aid to quit smoking.
John Dunne, the director general of the UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA), said: 'Vaping was invented to help adult smokers quit, and disposable products became the most successful vape products to do so because they are simple to use and most closely replicate the sensation of smoking.
'We are concerned that this ban will encourage former smokers who have already transitioned from cigarettes – which kill 220 people every day in the UK – to return to combustible tobacco or opt for unregulated vapes.
'We also have clear evidence from countries including the USA and Australia, showing that black market, counterfeit and illicit vape sales spiked when vape bans and restrictions are introduced.'
Simon Clark, the director of the smokers' lobby group Forest, said the products had been popular with smokers trying to quit because they were 'as convenient and easy to use as a combustible cigarette'.
'If you want to encourage more smokers to switch to a potentially less harmful product, it's essential the device is as simple and uncomplicated as possible,' he said.
'The ban is a disproportionate response to youth vaping and environmental concerns that could and should have been addressed by other means, including education and enforcement of existing laws.'
Kate Pike, the lead officer for tobacco and vaping at the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, said it was a 'worry' that the reusable vapes cost the same as disposables.
'It's a real worry that people will continue to use them as single-use disposable and therefore it won't help limit the damage to the environment,' she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
Mr Dunne told the programme the ban was 'ill-thought out' and argued that it would have been 'more sensible' to allow vapes to have larger tank sizes to increase the price from around £5 to nearer £15.
The ban is being put forward as part of environmental legislation by the Department for Environment.
It is separate from the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which is working its way through Parliament and will see further restrictions on the packaging, marketing and flavours of vapes, as well as a ban on anyone born from 2009 onwards being able to buy cigarettes.
Figures from the charity Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) suggest the number of vapers in Britain who mainly use single-use devices fell from 30 per cent last year to 24 per cent in 2025, while the use of disposables by 18 to 24-year-old vapers fell from 52 per cent in 2024 to 40 per cent in 2025.
Caroline Cerny, the Ash deputy chief executive, said: 'This new law is a step towards reducing vaping among children, while ensuring products are available to support people to quit smoking. It will be up to manufacturers and retailers to ensure customers are informed and able to reuse and recycle their products, securing a real change in consumer behaviour and a reduction in environmental waste.'
Disposable vapes are non-refillable and unable to be recharged, and are typically thrown away with general waste in black bins or littered rather than recycled.
Even when they are recycled they need to be taken apart by hand, while their batteries are a fire risk to recycling facilities and can leak harmful chemicals into the environment.
Rogue traders who continue to sell them risk a fine of £200 in the first instance, followed by an unlimited fine or jail time for repeat offending.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said use among young vapers remained too high, and that the ban would 'put an end to their alarming rise in school playgrounds and the avalanche of rubbish flooding the nation's streets'.
Mary Creagh, the circular economy minister, said: 'For too long, single-use vapes have blighted our streets as litter and hooked our children on nicotine. That ends today. The Government calls time on these nasty devices.'
James Lowman, the chief executive of the Association of Convenience Stores, said: 'We have been working with retailers, the Government and Trading Standards for months on providing detailed guidance that sets out how to spot non-compliant vapes after the ban comes into force, as well as advising retailers on what they need to do with any stock of disposables left over on June 1.
'We strongly support robust enforcement activity, starting with the businesses that are already openly flouting the rules by selling illicit product and who will continue to sell disposable vapes once they're outlawed.
'It is essential that Trading Standards teams are given the resources they need to get illegal vapes and other products off the streets, as these rogue businesses undermine the work of responsible retailers across the country.'
Campaigners have also warned that the waste crisis driven by disposable vapes could continue after a ban comes into force as cheap new models flood the market.
Green campaigners say vape producers have been developing new styles that are cheap but meet reusable criteria, meaning they essentially circumvent the ban.
Scott Butler, executive director of Material Focus, said: 'Without quick and extensive action, the threat of a 'vapocalypse' remains, and new big puff and pod vape models are already contributing to an environmental nightmare.'
He added that vape company design teams have been 'working their socks off to get new legal models on to the market', while the regulatory work was being carried out.
'To most users of these vapes, and shopkeepers even, they may not notice any difference in the old disposable vapes versus the new re-useable ones,' he said.