3 days ago
Single use vape ban in Scotland to take effect from Sunday amid 'litter emergency'
The Record led the campaign for a crackdown on disposable vapes which littered our streets and got youngsters hooked.
Single use vapes will finally be banned in Scotland this weekend in a move that could be transformative for public health and the environment.
An estimated 26 million disposable e-cigarettes are thrown away by Scots each year, with more than half not recycled and 10 per cent dumped on the street.
The Record joined environmental activists in calling for an end to sale and supply of single use vapes in a bid to clean-up our communities.
It's also hoped the ban on throwaway e-cigs - which takes effect from June 1 - will discourage more youngsters getting hooked on the brightly-coloured, sweetly-flavoured vapes and impacting their health.
A quarter of 11-15-year-olds have admitted they have tried the devices at least once.
The ban on the sale of disposable vapes will apply UK-wide after agreement was reached between Westminster and the devolved governments.
SNP ministers announced in February 2024 they would commit to a crackdown in a victory for the Record's campaign.
Barry Fisher, chief executive of Keep Scotland Beautiful, said: "We first became aware of the impact single-use vapes were having on our environment back in 2022 when members of the public and our volunteers were noticing them more often and asked what could be done.
"I'm proud of the effort we have made, alongside our partners, to see this product banned in Scotland – it shows what true collaboration can achieve.
"Our surveys and supporters have made it clear that this product was becoming more and more common, spoiling our environment and causing danger to wildlife.
"We are dealing with a litter emergency and the last thing we need is single-use products coming to market that can end up discarded harming our environment.
"This ban will help remove the fastest growing litter item from our streets, parks and beaches and is a welcome step in the right direction, but everyone must dispose of their waste in the correct way."
ASH Scotland, which campaigns against the harms caused by tobacco products, said there had been an "alarming" upsurge in vaping among children.
Sheila Duffy, the charity's chief executive, said: "We celebrate the ban of cheap recreational disposable e-cigarettes, which are the starter vaping product for most youngsters who vape, as a vital first step towards halting the alarming upsurge of children vaping in Scotland during the last few years.
"Although we warmly welcome these regulations coming into effect, government must take further, stronger actions to restrict the advertising and promotion of all e-cigarettes as well as banning vape flavours, colours, descriptors and branding on device designs and packaging to reduce the attractiveness of the products to children.
"The tobacco and nicotine industries must be halted in their attempts to attract children to use their addictive and health harming products, generating huge profits at a considerable cost to the health of our young people now and future generations."
