Disposable vapes are officially BANNED in the UK as government cracks down on cheap nicotine dispensers commonly littered and sold to children

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

A ban on single-use vapes has today come into force across Britain as the government looks to crack down on waste and the growing number of children hooked on nicotine.
Around five million disposable vapes were thrown away each week last year rather than being recycled - sparking major environmental concerns as the batteries can leak waste and cause fires.
And a survey commissioned by NHS England last October revealed that around one in ten secondary school pupils were regular users of the devices.
The new legislation means vapes must be considered 'reusable' - through being refillable or having a charging port - or they will be classed as illegal.
Shops have already begun stocking 'rechargeable' versions of vapes which are retailing for the same price as the disposable offerings.
Further moves to raise the age of sale of tobacco products and to regulate the displays, flavours and packaging of reusable vapes are also being taken forward through the Tobacco and Vapes Bill.
Nature minister Mary Creagh was asked on Friday whether the new legislation would be enough and said: 'Well let's bring in the ban first. That's what I would say.'
'I'm confident that my colleagues in the Department of Health will not hesitate to use those powers should what we're doing this weekend not achieve the goals.
'But I'm confident that it is already sparking a conversation among young people, getting them to ask the questions, getting them to understand that there's no such place as "away" and that these are really difficult to recycle.'
She added that most large vapes on the market do not have replaceable coils meaning they will fall within the scope of the ban.
The government is also considering further ways to drive up levels of separately collected electrical waste including vapes as part of reforms to waste electrical and electronic equipment regulations.
Under current rules, vape producers already have a legal responsibility to finance their collection for recycling.
Vapes contain valuable and critical materials such as lithium and copper that are regularly binned in household waste, and if littered, they can cause fires and other damaging or toxic impacts on the environment and wildlife.
Major eco organisations last week called on retailers to make more collection points available for the products.
Director general of the UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) John Dunne also called on shop owners to do more.
Mr Dunne said: 'This needs joined-up action from across the waste chain and more effort needs to be done to provide consumers with disposal points at the point of use and not just point of sale.'
He added that while the UKVIA works to educate consumers on sustainable vape use and recycling initiatives 'more needs to be done'.
'We would encourage the Government to launch a national consumer education which includes responsible disposal of vapes, why vaping is much less harmful than smoking, and warning of the dangers of buying non-compliant products from the black market or other irregular sellers.'
According to research by online nicotine retailer, Haypp, 82 per cent of disposable vape users stockpiled ahead of the ban.
Cllr David Fothergill, Chairman of the LGA's Community Wellbeing Board, urged shops to comply with the new laws, dubbing vapes a 'blight [on] our streets.'
He added: 'We would also urge caution to anyone stockpiling disposable vapes. Failing to store disposable vapes correctly could cost lives, given the significant fire risk they pose.'