Government Looks To Ban Disposable Vapes To Prevent Children Becoming Addicted
“If you smoke, vaping is much safer; if you don’t smoke, don’t vape, and marketing to children is utterly unacceptable.”
- Prof Sir Chis Whitty, Chief Medical Officer
The government is supposedly set to ban disposable vapes to both reduce waste and prevent the risk of addiction for children.
This comes following the health ministers deciding that the products are excessively targeted to minors, with products being placed near confectionary on front counters, and come in an array of bright colours and flavours that can be seen as targeted towards children such as “blue raspberry”, “gummy bear” and “bubblegum”. Ministers across the government have raised concerns about the increasing consumption of vapes by children over the last few years, including Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, who voiced concerns in May.
The concern for children’s welfare is not the only factor that has brought about the ban consideration. As the amount of disposable vapes purchased has doubled to seven million a week in the past year, the amount of waste produced has quadrupled with five million vapes being thrown away every week and only 17 percent of users correctly disposing of them through a shop or recycling centre. The Local Government Association (LGA) has previously called for a ban on all vapes, stating that they are a hazard for waste collectors, as well as being “almost impossible to recycle without going through special treatment”, making them expensive to dispose of. They have previously said they are not anti-vape, but that the design of disposable vapes are flawed and unsustainable.
The ban has yet to be confirmed, but plans are due to be revealed next week following a consultation form the Department of Health and Social Care. However, Britain is not the first to be looking at restricting access to vaping. New Zealand has made the majority of disposable vapes illegal and put restrictions on marketing to children, Germany has banned flavoured vapes, and Australia has banned all vaping without a prescription. It is understood that the government is not considering banning all vapes at this time due to the use of e-cigarettes by quitting smokers.
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Sources:
Image Source: edgevaping.com
Sky: https://news.sky.com/story/uk-may-ban-single-use-vapes-as-labours-angela-rayner-admits-wishing-she-could-kick-the-habit-12959584
The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/sep/11/ban-on-single-use-vapes-in-uk-could-be-imminent
The Independent: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/single-use-vapes-ban-children-addiction-b2409707.html
The Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2023/09/11/disposable-vapes-be-banned-stop-children-becoming-addicted/
