Government Announces Ban

“Single-use vapes are not rechargeable or refillable, and are typically discarded as general waste in a bin or littered, rather than recycled – contributing to a flood of litter on our streets. Even when they are sent to recycling facilities, they usually have to be disassembled by hand – a slow and difficult process which will struggle to keep up with the pace of vape production. Their lithium-ion batteries can also present a fire risk to waste industry workers,” says Defra.

“Last year, it was estimated that almost five million single-use vapes were either littered or thrown away in general waste every week in the UK, almost four times as much as the previous year and the equivalent of eight being thrown away per second. In 2022, more than 40 tonnes of lithium from single-use vapes was discarded, which is the same amount used to power 5,000 electric vehicles.

“Making the sale of single-use vapes illegal, delivers on the Government’s commitment to act on this important issue, and kick-starts the push towards a circular economy and helps to curb the rise of young people taking up vaping, while also protecting our natural environment and town streets from a tide of litter.”

Latest stats show that vape usage in England grew by more than 400% between 2012 and 2023, with 9.1% of the British public now buying and using these products. 

Defra went on to speak about “the long-term health impacts of vaping” being unknown, nicotine being “highly addictive”, and vape withdrawal causing “anxiety, trouble concentrating and headaches”.

Michael Bloomberg must be stroking a white cat in his office and laughing manically. 

Circular Economy Minister Mary Creagh commented: “Single-use vapes are extremely wasteful and blight our towns and cities. That is why we are banning single use vapes as we end this nation’s throwaway culture. This is the first step on the road to a circular economy, where we use resources for longer, reduce waste, accelerate the path to net-zero and create thousands of jobs across the country.”

Minister for Public Health and Prevention (and stretching the credibility of public health statements), Andrew Gwynne, added: “It’s deeply worrying that a quarter of 11-15-year-olds used a vape last year and we know disposables are the product of choice for the majority of kids vaping today.

“Banning disposable vapes will not only protect the environment, but importantly reduce the appeal of vapes to children and keep them out of the hands of vulnerable young people.”

Posing questions:

• Since when did banning things already banned for sale to teens reduce the appeal? They are already sourcing illicit products from shady sources.
• How is handing control to a booming and unregulated black market going to keep vapes out of the hands of children?

Gwynne continued: “The government will also introduce the Tobacco and Vapes Bill – the biggest public health intervention in a generation – which will protect young people from becoming hooked on nicotine and pave the way for a smoke-free UK.”

It won’t. Without serious additional funding for Trading Standards operations and the adoption of a licensing scheme, this move removes protections.

Gwynne added: “The public is in favour of restricting the sale and supply of single-use vapes, with 69% of consultation respondents supporting these proposals in February 2024.”

Research shows that the public is largely ignorant about vaping and its relative safety compared to smoking. Relying on public opinion to support legislation is an appeal to popularity rather than sensible evidence-based regulation. 

Gwynne concluded: “Banning these vapes will stop them from being thrown into bins with general waste, where they typically end up in landfill or being incinerated, posing a fire risk due to their lithium-ion batteries and can cause poor air quality. Furthermore, it will stop plastic, lead, and mercury from leaching into the environment, which can cause waterways to be contaminated and poison our wildlife.  

“The Government has laid legislation to introduce the ban and, subject to parliamentary approval, businesses will have until 1 June 2025 to sell any remaining stock they hold and prepare for the ban coming into force. The UK Government and Devolved Governments have worked closely and will align coming into force dates.”

Arguments to clean up the environment are backed up by data, but the notion that black market disposables won’t be thrown into bins and continue to cause a problem is unsupportable.

Libby Peake, head of resources at Green Alliance, was delighted with the news: “Disposable vapes are the last thing our children and the planet need, and for too long the market for them has been allowed to grow unchecked. Every single one wastes resources that are critical to a more sustainable economy – like lithium, needed for the batteries that power electric cars.

“When they’re littered, the nicotine, plastic and batteries they contain are all extremely harmful. Even when they’re put in a bin, their batteries can catch fire. The government is right to ban these harmful devices - it’s a welcome step in the journey towards an economy where waste is reduced by design.”

The Government used its ‘nudge unit’ effectively in the past to get the public to do the right thing. Surely there are better options available than the imperfect regulatory sledgehammer of a ban? Recycling rates for waste from households has fallen to 44.1% in 2022; how does creating a bigger black market encourage the public to support the Government’s desire “to end the nation’s throwaway culture and stop the avalanche of rubbish that is filling up our high streets, countryside and oceans”?   

When a nuanced approach was vital to avoid unintended consequences, the Tobacco and Vapes Bill is squaring up to be a populist, back of a fag packet mess, grounded in a puritanical belief that anything to do with nicotine is morally wrong.

Dave Cross

Journalist at POTV

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Dave 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.