Ban Slammed by WVA
Ban on disposable vapes contradicts UK’s successful harm reduction policy, says the World Vaper’s Alliance
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by Dave Cross
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Michael Landl, the Director of the WVA, stated: "Prohibition doesn't work. It never has, and it never will. A ban on disposable vapes will not eliminate the demand but shift it from regulated markets to the black market, creating negative, unintended public health consequences.”
The ban on disposable vapes is counterproductive to harm reduction, says World Vapers’ Alliance.
"Disposable vapes can act as a crucial stepping stone for smokers looking to quit," added Landl. “They offer an easy entry point, and many consumers eventually transition to open systems. Making that path from smoking to vaping as frictionless as possible is essential for public health. While cigarettes, known to be extremely harmful, remain readily available, banning a 95% less harmful alternative defies logic.”
The WVA says that though there are concerns about disposable vapes' environmental impact and attractiveness to young people, these issues can be addressed through smart regulation rather than an outright ban.
“If disposables are banned, we won't find solutions to these problems. Instead, we'll leave them to the illicit market," warns Landl.
The UK has recently widely acknowledged vaping as a smoking cessation tool through its “Swap-to-Stop'' program, committed to further reducing smoking rates.
According to the Office for National Statistics, UK smoking rates have fallen by more than 29% in the last decade (when vaping became popular). Compared to the EU, smoking rates in the UK have fallen twice as fast.
This proposed ban threatens to undermine those gains and puts the UK at odds with its own best practices the WVA adds.
Landl concluded: “Countries with an open harm reduction approach, like Sweden, which recently reduced taxes on snus, have successfully reduced smoking rates. The UK should not regress by adopting policies that have proven to be ineffective.”
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.
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