The sale of single-use vapes will be prohibited in the UK by next summer, as announced by the government. Legislation to ban the sale of disposable vapes starting from June 1, 2025, has been presented in Parliament, confirmed by the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) on Wednesday. Reusable vapes and refills will still be available, along with regular cigarettes and other tobacco products. Retailers have until the deadline to sell any remaining stock they hold and prepare for the ban to take effect.
DEFRA mentioned that the UK government and the devolved administrations of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland collaborated closely on the ban and will align their implementation dates.
‘The Path to Net Zero’
Disposable vapes are challenging to recycle, and the majority end up in regular household waste or littered outdoors. Mary Creagh, the Circular Economy Minister, expressed that disposable vapes are wasteful and contribute to urban blight. She emphasized the importance of banning single-use vapes to move away from a throwaway culture towards a circular economy, reducing waste, accelerating the journey to net-zero, and creating employment opportunities nationwide.
In the previous year, Materials Focus estimated that nearly 5 million single-use vapes were discarded or thrown away in general waste every week in the UK, almost quadruple the amount from the previous year. Vape usage in England surged by over 400 percent between 2012 and 2023, with 9.1 percent of the population purchasing and using these products.
Health authorities have expressed concerns that while vaping was initially intended to assist individuals in quitting tobacco smoking, many young people have adopted vaping without ever smoking traditional cigarettes, leading to a rise in teenage vaping. Health Minister Andrew Gwynne highlighted the importance of banning disposable vapes to protect the environment, reduce the appeal of vapes to children, and prevent vulnerable young people from accessing them.
A ‘Smoke-Free Future’
Health Secretary Wes Streeting pledged to introduce a more ambitious Tobacco and Vapes Bill, surpassing the measures proposed by the previous government. The bill aims to prevent individuals born after Jan. 1, 2009, from legally purchasing cigarettes and vaping products and includes restrictions on the sale and marketing of vapes to children. The ultimate goal is to create a smoke-free generation and protect young people from nicotine addiction.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer previously mentioned the government’s contemplation of banning smoking in outdoor areas, eliciting concerns about its potential impact on the pub trade. Streeting intends to reintroduce the Tobacco and Vapes bill to Parliament before Christmas, with the specifics of outdoor smoking restrictions yet to be disclosed.
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