Disposables vapes ban 'could be as profound for public health as smoking ban'
A surgeon-turned-MP has declared that today's disposable vapes ban could have as profound an impact on public health as the 2006 indoor smoking ban. From today, the sale and supply of single-use vapes is prohibited by law with shops facing £5000 fines and potentially up to two years in jail if they flout the rules.
Labour MP Zubir Ahmed has said he believes the move will quickly have a 'material impact' on Scotland's teen vaping epidemic – with a quarter of 15-year-olds currently hooked on the nicotine-based gadgets. Glasgow South West MP Ahmed, a transplant specialist who worked in the NHS for 20 years, said: 'I feel like this is of a magnitude of when the smoking ban came in in 2006 in Scotland.
'There was lots of umming and ahhing about whether people would comply – but in the end, they did, because that's what people in Scotland and Britain do. They're generally law-abiding, good people that obey the law.'
In the year following the ban on smoking in indoor places, the number of hospital admissions linked to smoking plummeted.
Since then, youth smoking rates have fallen to historic lows.
But the rise in teen vaping – with candy-flavoured e-cigs like Gummy Bear and Cotton Candy being cynically marketed at kids – has raised fears of a new generation being hooked on nicotine.
Ahmed said: 'I think the ban will have a material impact immediately on youth vaping – but more importantly, for a lot of these kids, vapes can be a bridge into smoking and I think we'll finally break that link as well.'
It comes as the ban sparked scenes of panic-buying as stores and online retailers tried to shift their stocks at bargain prices.
Refillable vapes will still be available after today however tens of thousands of Scots are thought to have been stockpiling their favourite disposable vape flavours.
Of Scotland's estimated 150,000 users of disposable vapes, around a quarter (27 per cent) have been stashing up to nine weeks' worth, a recent OnePoll survey suggests.
There were reports of shops offering single-use vapes at 'everything must go'-style discount prices.
One Spar store in Alloa told LBC Radio of a buying frenzy after they cut prices to three boxes of vapes for £30 – which with 10 vapes per box, works out at £1 each.
It comes amid warnings that despite the landmark ban, the environmental toll of single-use vapes – which are difficult to recycle and contain critical materials like lithium batteries – will continue to be felt.
In the UK, an estimated 8.2million vapes are thrown away or littered every week – or 13 vapes per second – according to Material Focus.
Scott Butler of the anti-waste group said: 'The threat of a 'vapocalypse' remains and new big puff and pod vape models are already contributing to an environmental nightmare.'
Gillian Martin, Scotland's acting Net Zero Secretary, said: 'Scotland was the first nation in the UK to commit to taking action on single-use vapes.
'This change to the law fulfils a Programme for Government commitment and will help tackle the threat that single-use vapes pose to our environment as well as to our public health.'
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Meanwhile, self-styled sustainable vaping firm Riot Labs have produced data this week suggesting more than a quarter of a million Scots are hoarding used disposable vapes in cupboards, drawers, pockets and cars as they're unsure how to dispose of them.
They've teamed up with Scots eco campaigner Laura Young - who spearheaded the grassroots campaign to ban the devices in the UK - to tell users what to do with their old e-cigs.
Their advice includes using online tools like Recycle Your Electricals to find your nearest drop-off point for old disposables, not trying to dismantle vapes yourself, and not sticking them in the regular bin where the batteries pose a fire hazard.
Laura said: "Disposable vapes are the poster child of wasteful design, packed with precious materials, designed to be used once, then tossed. This ban is a vital victory for our environment and a wake-up call to the industry.
"We cannot continue normalising single-use electronics that pollute our streets, endanger our health, and waste critical resources like lithium.
"With the UK Government now taking decisive action, it's time to clear out our drawers, recycle properly, and use this moment as a blueprint to challenge other throwaway products."
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