Latest news with #smoking
Telegraph
12 hours ago
- Health
- Telegraph
Disposable vapes ban ‘will backfire'
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.
Daily Mail
20 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE I tried the $1 drug hailed as BETTER than Ozempic... the weight-loss results don't lie but now I can't stop
They're tiny — no bigger than a thumb nail — and discreet. That's what makes Zyn nicotine pouches so appealing to former smokers like me, especially on nights out when cravings hit hard. Your browser does not support iframes.
ABC News
21 hours ago
- Business
- ABC News
Lung Foundation Australia calls for tobacco sales ban at major supermarkets
Sarah Waters tried her first cigarette at 11-years-old, pinched from her dad's packet. By 13, she was smoking regularly, and within a few months, she was addicted. "When I started smoking, there was no information about the dangers," she said. "It was actually advertised in teenage magazines … all the movie stars, models had them. It was cool, it was prestigious." Ms Waters said she tried everything, but when cigarettes were so easy to get a hold of — in supermarkets, corner stores, service stations and at tobacconists — the temptation was hard to deny. It's this reason why the Lung Foundation is calling for a crackdown. The foundation wants the sale of cigarettes and tobacco products banned from major supermarkets. Lung Foundation Australia chief executive Mark Brooke said accessibility is one of the major reasons people continue to smoke. "By removing as many of those points of sale or limiting those points of sale, is a really important part of the solution. It's not the solution, but it's an important part of the solution," Mr Brooke said. Ms Waters said she backed any measure that could deter people from continuing to smoke or take it up. "If you are at the shops and they are there you can just say, 'It will be my last packet,'" she said. "If it is not there then I think it would be the extra barrier to help someone quit." Mr Brooke said smoking rates nationwide have decreased dramatically — only about 10 per cent of the population now smokes. But he said the time to clamp down was now, with an explosion in the number of venues selling cigarettes and tobacco products. "Some of those are operating illegally, but some of those also have licenses," he said. Researchers said the fear that restricting access to cigarettes could feed the booming illegal tobacco trade in Australia was "real" but would likely only affect those who were already suffering from addiction. "As a prevention tactic, I think it's a fantastic idea," Griffith University marketing research fellow James Durl said. In Queensland this month, health authorities seized illegal cigarettes and vapes with an estimated street value of about $20.8 million, in what it's calling its biggest raids in history. "It's only going to affect those people who were smoking for starters," Dr Durl said. "For those people who are smoking, and are desperately looking for a cigarette, and they have to go to a different place, I think as long as it's still legal and you're able to get it from say, a tobacconist specifically, [people won't necessarily turn to illegal operators]." Dr Durl said restricting access is just a small step in the decades-long fight to stamp out tobacco use. "This isn't talking about a ban — they're not becoming illegal," he said. "[This idea is] just trying to put a delay, a buffer, between the urge to have a smoke and the actual purchasing of a smoke." Federal Health Minister Mark Butler said the government passed laws in 2023 to "reignite the fight" against tobacco. "Under the Tobacco Act, a range of new graphic health warnings, health promotion inserts, and on-product health messages have been developed. "They have been informed by research and improved during rounds of market testing with smokers, to ensure they are effective, have impact and maximise engagement." Mr Butler did not comment on whether his government would support banning major supermarkets from selling cigarettes In a statement, Coles said it complied with all legislation around minimising the health impacts of tobacco use, "however we recognise the need to provide choice to those customers who wish to purchase these products legally". Woolworths was contacted for comment but did not reply by deadline. After 27 years of attempts, Sarah Waters finally found her reason to quit. Like many, it was her health that was the final straw. "I couldn't enjoy life, like every time I laughed, I'd go into a coughing fit. It became anti-social, and it got really expensive as well," she said. It's been 11 years since her last cigarette. Now she spends the money she saves on them on overseas holidays. Her advice to those wanting to quit is not to give up. "I tried patches, I tried gum, I tried hypnosis, I tried several different types of medication, I tried cold turkey, I tried fad exercise diets, and I finally found the thing that worked for me which was a medication prescribed from the doctor," Ms Waters said.
South China Morning Post
a day ago
- General
- South China Morning Post
5 ways smoking causes damage beyond lungs and heart, and issues from herpes to infertility
Are you a smoker – or does someone you love smoke? If so, you, or they, have almost certainly had family, friends or colleagues give them reasons to stop. Advertisement On World No Tobacco Day, we are reminded that most smokers themselves would like to quit – even if they will not admit it. In 2022, more than two-thirds (67.7 per cent) of the 28.8 million US adults who smoked cigarettes wanted to quit, more than half (53.3 per cent) tried to quit, but fewer than 10 per cent succeeded, according to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Grisly photos on cigarette packs warn of smoking's dangers , but do not go far enough, says Tony Mok, professor of clinical oncology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Health warnings on cigarette packs. Some say they aren't enough to deter people from lighting up. Photo: Elizabeth Cheung 'The horrid pictures are merely a visual tool, but not an educational one,' he says. 'The potential harm [from] tobacco smoking is too extensive to be listed on cigarette packets.' Advertisement
Japan Times
a day ago
- Business
- Japan Times
Nomura's smoking ban leads to less staff lighting up
Nomura's drive to cut the smoking rate among its staff is bearing fruit, pushing the firm closer to its goal of improving health among its employees. Close to 15% of staff at Japan's largest brokerage were smokers in the fiscal year ended March 2024, down from 21.4% as of March 2018, according to an investor presentation that included details on its other health management initiatives. Nomura, which has more than 14,000 employees in Japan, had set a target to reduce the smoking rate to 12% by March 2026. Nomura's health and productivity management goals for staff include promoting walking habits. It has also introduced subsidies for egg-freezing services starting in April, to give female employees more options to plan their lives and careers, the firm said in its presentation. The firm, which has been providing financial aid since 2017 to help workers quit smoking, asked staff during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 not to smoke while working, even at home. However, the rules were based on mutual trust and didn't include a punitive clause. It also removed smoking rooms from its offices, and encouraged staff who light up during their lunch break not to return to the office within 45 minutes of smoking. The lower smoking rate at Nomura reflects a larger national decline in Japan and other developed markets, as people become more aware about health risks linked with cigarettes. The government aims to have only 12% of people age 20 or older still smoke by 2033, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare website. More than 15% of Japanese adults were smokers as of 2024, according to a survey by the ministry last year.
