The government has announced that disposable vapes will be banned across the UK as part of moves to curb the surge in youth vaping. Other measures include making vaping less appealing to children by restricting sweet and fruity flavours, introducing plain packaging and making displays in stores less visible.
Figures from the charity Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) show nearly 8% of 11 to 17-year-olds now vape regularly or occasionally, up from 4.1% in 2020.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “As any parent or teacher knows, one of the most worrying trends at the moment is the rise in vaping among children, and so we must act before it becomes endemic.”
He added: “As prime minister, I have an obligation to do what I think is the right thing for our country in the long term. That is why I am taking bold action to ban disposable vapes – which have driven the rise in youth vaping – and bring forward new powers to restrict vape flavours, introduce plain packaging and change how vapes are displayed in shops.”
The changes are expected to come into effect towards the end of this year or early 2025. Once the timing is confirmed, retailers will be given six months to implement the restrictions.
The move forms part of a wider response to a public consultation on smoking and vaping. Last year, the government announced plans to ban the sale of cigarettes to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009 as part of an attempt to create a “smoke-free generation”.
As well as health concerns, campaigners have long argued that disposable vapes are damaging to the environment, with the materials and chemicals used to make them, including their lithium batteries, making them difficult to dispose of safely.
Vape makers have argued that their products can support people in giving up traditional tobacco-based smoking. Refillable vapes will still be available after the ban, but flavours that could attract children will be restricted, with plainer, less appealing packaging. A further public consultation will take place to decide which flavours should be banned and how refillable vapes will be sold.
The Scottish and Welsh governments have both said they will adopt the vaping restrictions, either with legislation in their own parliaments or by supporting UK-wide measures.
Dr Camilla Kingdon, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said creating a “smoke-free generation” would reduce young people’s chances of developing preventable diseases in later life.
However, the Independent British Vape Trade Association (IBVTA) warned that introducing bans on single-use vapes and flavours could have damaging consequences, including making it harder for existing smokers to quit and potentially pushing those who have quit back into tobacco smoking.
“Big tobacco will be rubbing its hands with glee in anticipation of possible vape bans and increasing their sales,” said Marcus Saxton, Chair of the IBVTA.
“Further, with an estimated third of the UK vape market comprising illicit products, a ban will simply benefit those pushing illegal and unregulated products as people seek out single-use and flavoured vapes from illicit sources.”
Eve Peters, UK director of government affairs for Elf Bar, one of the country’s biggest vape manufacturers, said the company supported the government’s wish to stop children using vapes but that it was “disappointed with the outright ban”.
Meanwhile, Asli Ertonguc, spokesperson for BAT’s UK arm, said increased controls on the “importation, appeal, and access of these products will more effectively reduce underage use”.
Shares in some major vaping firms tumbled in early trading today following news of the proposed ban. Australia, France, Germany, and New Zealand have all announced similar plans.
NAM Implications:
- Suppliers and retailers dealing with the ’here & now’ i.e. realists…
- …know that the current government will press on with these regulations.
- Meaning that flavour restrictions and a ban on disposables will be implemented by mid-2025, latest…
- …and suppliers and retailers will need to work within a limited version of the vape market.
