Latest news with #TobaccoAndVapesBill
BBC News
3 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Disposable vapes ban: Call for Northern Ireland Executive to set smoke-free target
As disposable vapes are banned across the UK, one charity is calling on the Northern Ireland Executive to create smoke and vape-free ban, which is in effect from Sunday, means that shops and businesses will no longer be allowed to stock and sell disposable found guilty of stocking or supplying single-use vapes in Northern Ireland could receive a maximum penalty of up two years in prison and a fine of up to £5, the public will still be able to buy reusable and Lung UK NI policy officer, Andrew Wilson, told BBC News NI he welcomes the ban and would like the executive to set a target for making Northern Ireland smoke-free. Speaking to BBC News NI, Mr Wilson said: "We would like the executive to push on from this with the momentum gained and perhaps look at creating smoke and vape-free places in Northern Ireland whether that's in our playgrounds, whether that's in schools or whether that's at our hospitals."He added that research shows there are "very real links with vaping to inflammation of your airways which will then exacerbate existing health conditions, whether you have asthma or COPD". The Tobacco and Vapes Bill is UK-wide legislation that would ban tobacco products for anyone born after January 1, would also bring in restrictions on the advertising and sale of vapes, as well as reviewing the packaging of Wilson said that the Northern Ireland Executive should publicly state its target for a smoke-free Northern Ireland and bring "a bit of equity with the rest of the British Isles who have all done so".He also called for a new tobacco control strategy. Environmental impact In Northern Ireland, the legislation to ban disposable vapes was passed by the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera).Its minister, Andrew Muir, said the single-use vape ban is an important measure to help the said it would also help people's health and alleviate potential fire risks. The minister said retailers are also obliged to take back disposable vapes for recycling once the ban comes in added that he has been engaging with his counterpart in the Republic of Ireland who is progressing similar legislation. What is a disposable vape? They are single useThey are already filled and chargedThey are activated by inhalingThe battery only lasts a short while, sometimes only a day, so they are designed to be discardedThey are often small and fit in a pocketThey do not have a replaceable coil and cannot be recharged or refilled Paul Lagan, who owns a chain of vape shops across Belfast, said the change would be better for the environment, but he has some concerns for the future."We're reducing waste - that's good as a business and as a vaping community," he said."One of the bigger concerns is the vaping tax that's going to be introduced next year where it's £2.20 on a 10ml bottle of liquid (for reusable vapes), effectively doubling the cost of many of these liquids."Mr Lagan said he thinks licensing vape shops could help prevent young people from accessing vapes as added that banning certain flavours could also create a black market for vapes rather than a preventative measure. Darragh McKay said the ban is a "very good idea" as disposable vapes are "all bright colours" and "not like cigarettes" which have warnings on them."I don't think vapes should be banned entirely because not often you see young people smoking like refillable vapes, it's always disposable vapes," he said."Refillable vapes are good for like your mum getting off cigarettes." Alison Nic Craith doesn't vape but thinks the new legislation is "great"."Particularly for kids, because there is so many 11 and 12-year-olds now that vape," she told BBC News NI."I think the shops should just be stricter and like checking IDs, I think that is the best way to go about it." Auron Cull, who does vape but would like to quit, thinks the ban on disposable vapes is a good idea."Whenever I walk about town I just see all these school kids walking about with e-cigs and they go into the shops," he said."In some cases it helps people to get off cigarettes, but then they get off the cigarettes and they're onto the vapes for X amount of time." John Watson doesn't vape but thinks the ban is a good idea because of the environmental impact the disposable vapes can have."I know quite a few people I work with are quite, not annoyed about it, but more kind of frustrated because of the handiness of going and getting one, they're not really wanting to have to go and buy cartridges to fill up," he said he knows of people who are "stock-piling" disposable vapes. Public Health Agency research found that 46% of year 14 school pupils surveyed currently vape, despite it being illegal to sell or supply vapes to under lead for tobacco control with the PHA, Colette Rogers, said the PHA is asking parents and carers to "to use it as an opportunity to discourage vaping among young people and take steps to stop vapes from falling into the hands of under 18s".
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Disposable vapes are officially BANNED in the UK as government cracks down on cheap nicotine dispensers commonly littered and sold to children
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.'
BBC News
27-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Why are disposable vapes being banned and how harmful is vaping?
From Sunday, it will be illegal for businesses to sell or supply disposable vapes. The government hopes the ban will reduce environmental damage caused by the devices and help cut the number of children and young people vaping. How are the rules about vapes changing? Disposable vapes banFrom 1 June 2025, businesses will be banned from selling or supplying any single-use vapes, whether that's in shops or caught breaking the law in England face a minimum £200 fine, with a prison sentence of up to two years for repeat offences. Penalties are broadly similar in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Trading Standards will be able to seize any single-use vapes they devices considered to be reusable will be legal. That means that they must have a rechargeable battery, a replaceable coil, and be won't be illegal to own a disposable vape after 1 June. Customers can still return them, and retailers have an obligation to get rid of taxVaping products are already subject to 20% VAT but, unlike tobacco, they do not currently attract a separate additional tax.A new vaping duty will start on 1 October 2026. It will be charged at a flat rate of £2.20 per 10ml vaping the same time, tobacco duty will be increased to preserve the financial incentive for cigarette smokers to switch to and sponsorship banThe government's Tobacco and Vapes Bill - which is currently making its way through Parliament - will outlaw vape advertising and will also restrict the flavours, packaging and display of vapes and other nicotine products. Children have been targeted with colours, branding and flavours such as bubble gum or candy floss, to push a product that can lead to nicotine addiction, the British Medical Association has vapesThe government is also cracking down on iIlegal vapes, which are widely available and are much more likely to contain other harmful chemicals or than six million illegal vaping products were seized by Trading Standards officers across England between 2022 and 2024, according to analysis by the BBC. Why are disposable vapes so bad for the environment? The ban on disposable vapes was introduced to tackle their impact on the five million single-use vapes were thrown away each week in 2023, according to the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra).As well as lithium-ion batteries, vapes also contain circuit boards. If these aren't not disposed of properly, they can leak toxic compounds such as cobalt and means fish, and marine mammals could mistake vapes for food and ingest poisonous Local Government Association (LGA), also says that single-use vapes are "a hazard for waste and litter collection and cause fires in bin lorries".However, recycling disposable vapes is not straightforward because of their size and the way they are manufactured, which makes them difficult to take minerals and the lithium could - if recovered - be reused for green technologies such as electric car batteries or in wind is currently no large-scale disposable vape recycling in the UK. There are so many different types of vape on the market that it is difficult to develop a standard recycling process. How many children and adults vape? Around 18% of 11 to 17-year-olds (980,000 children) have tried vaping, according to a 2024 survey by health charity ASH (Action on Smoking and Health).About 7% (390,000 children) said they currently vaped, down from 8% in 2023, but still well above the 4% figure recorded in contrast, just over 5% of 11 to 17-year-olds (280,000 children) said they currently smoked, while just under 3% (150,000 children) said they both smoked and all age groups over 16, the use of vapes has risen, with about 5.1 million people using a vape or e-cigarette in 2023. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) says 5.9% of people aged 16 and over vaped every day, up slightly from the previous year, while another 3.9% did so group with the highest rate of vape use - nearly 16% - was 16-24 year-olds. How harmful are vapes to children and adults? Vaping is nowhere near as harmful as smoking cigarettes, which contain tobacco, tar and a range of other toxic cancer-causing chemicals, and is one of the largest preventable causes of illness and death in the because vaping may itself cause long-term damage to lungs, hearts and brains, it is only recommended for adult smokers trying to quit as part of the NHS "swap to stop" vapour inhaled contains a small amount of chemicals, often including the addictive substance nicotine."Vapes can be an effective way for adult smokers to quit - but we have always been clear that children and adult non-smokers should never vape," the Department of Health and Social Care has research is needed to fully understand the effects of vaping, but in December 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned "alarming evidence" was growing about the damage it February 2025, the government said a £62m research project would track 100,000 eight to 18-year-olds for a decade to better understand the risks.
