Disposable vapes to be banned from June

The sale of disposable vapes will be banned in England and Wales from June next year, the government has confirmed.

Ministers in England said the move, first announced in January by the previous government but not enacted before the general election, is intended to protect children's health and prevent environmental damage.

The government said it had worked closely with the devolved nations and they would "align coming into force dates" on bans, with Wales already confirming it will follow suit.

Vaping industry leaders have warned the move could fuel a rise in illegal sales of the products.

The Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra) said vape usage in England had grown by more than 400% between 2012 and 2023, with 9% of the British public now buying and using the products.

The number of people who vape without ever having smoked has also increased considerably over recent years, driven mostly by young adults.

It is illegal to sell any vape to anyone under 18, but disposable vapes - often sold in smaller, more colourful packaging than refillable ones - are a "key driver behind the alarming rise in youth vaping", the previous government said when it first set out its plan.

Public health minister Andrew Gwynne said banning disposables would "reduce the appeal of vapes to children and keep them out of the hands of vulnerable young people".

Vaping is substantially less harmful than smoking, but it has not been around for long enough for its long-term risks to be known, according to the NHS.

The products are also difficult to recycle and typically end up landfill, where their batteries can leak harmful waste like battery acid, lithium, and mercury into the environment, the government said.

Batteries thrown into household waste also cause hundreds of fires in bin lorries and waste-processing centres every year.

Defra estimates almost five million single-use vapes were either littered or thrown into general waste each week last year, a nearly four-fold increase on the year before.

In 2022, vapes were discarded containing a total of more than 40 tonnes of lithium, enough to power 5,000 electric vehicles, it said.

Defra minister Mary Creagh, whose role focuses on reducing waste in the economy, said disposable vapes were "extremely wasteful and blight our towns and cities".

Disposable vapes - often priced at about £5 - are usually cheaper upfront than many refillable vape kits - often priced at about £8-12 - and can be bought from non-specialist retailers.

But the long-term costs associated with refillable kits are lower than for disposables.

Ireland and Belgium have recently outlined plans to ban the products, while countries including New Zealand, Australia, South Korea, India and Brazil already have restrictions in place.