U.K. Plans Disposable Vape Ban in England

The measure, which echoes plans in Scotland and Wales, aims to protect young people’s health and reduce environmental damage.

Disposable vapes will be banned in England starting in June under a government plan announced on Thursday, a move aimed at protecting young people’s health and reducing waste.

Single-use vapes, which are often sold in brightly colored packaging, have become the “product of choice for the majority of kids vaping today,” Andrew Gwynne, the minister for public health and prevention, said in a government statement.

An estimated five million disposable vapes are discarded each week in Britain, according to the government.

The proposed ban — which requires the approval of Parliament, where the governing Labour Party holds a large majority — would prevent plastic, lead and mercury from single-use vapes leaching into the environment, the government said.

It is also aimed at reducing problems caused by the disposal of lithium-ion batteries. Even when sent to recycling facilities, the government said, the products usually needed to be disassembled by hand, and the batteries posed a fire risk to workers in the waste industry.

“Single-use vapes are extremely wasteful and blight our towns and cities,” Mary Creagh, an environment minister, said in the statement, adding that the initiative was part of an effort to combat Britain’s “throwaway culture.”

Similar prohibitions are being planned in Scotland and Wales, and the government said it was working to align the dates in 2025 at which the measures will come into force. The idea of banning disposable vapes in England was first announced in January by the previous government but was not put into action before the general election in July.

John Dunne, the director general of the U.K. Vaping Industry Association, criticized the decision to proceed with the ban, arguing that it would lead to an increase in illegal sales. He called instead for a licensing initiative for retailers and distributors to ensure that vapes were not sold to minors.

“Bans are not the answer, as we’ve seen in other parts of the world, such as Australia, as they will only boost the black market, which will pose significant risks to young people and the environment,” he said in a statement. “What’s needed is greater enforcement of current laws in place which make it a legal requirement for vape traders not to sell to children under the age of 18 and to comply with environmental legislation.”

It is already illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone under 18 in Britain. But a quarter of people age 11 to 15 in England used a vape last year, according to the country’s National Health Service. It estimates that vape usage grew more than fourfold from 2012 to 2023, with 9.1 percent of the public now using the products.

The long-term health effects of vaping are unclear, although it is known that the nicotine they contain can be highly addictive.

The vaping industry argues that its products provide an alternative to cigarettes that help smokers break a more harmful habit. But government ministers in Britain have long been concerned by the appeal to children of single-use vapes, partly because of the products’ packaging and the way they are marketed.

The number of young people who vape without having previously smoked cigarettes has increased markedly, according to researchers.

If Parliament approves the ban, businesses in England will have until June 1 to sell any remaining stock they hold.

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