The number of children vaping in the UK has tripled in the last three years. Disposable vapes are being banned to address the rise in youth vaping and protect children's health. New data shows that disposable vapes in particular have been driving increased vape usage among youth aged 11-17, with a nine-fold increase over the last two years.
Child-friendly flavors like energy drinks and cookies are fuelling the popularity of disposable vapes among younger users. To curb this trend, the UK government is implementing a ban on disposable vapes and will introduce new restrictions on vape flavors and packaging.
Details of the Upcoming Disposable Vape Ban
The ban on disposable vapes, including both nicotine and non-nicotine products, is expected to come into force at the end of 2024 or early 2025. New legislation will utilize existing powers under the Environmental Protection Act.
The ban aims to tackle the environmental impact of throwaway vapes, as around 5 million disposable devices are discarded weekly in the UK. That's up from only 1.3 million last year.
Additional Measures to Protect Children
Alongside the disposable vape ban, new laws will:
- Restrict vape flavors clearly targeted at kids
- Mandate plainer vape packaging
- Change how vapes are displayed in retail stores
- Impose £100 fines for underage sales
- Empower trading standards officers to crack down on illegal sales
- Prohibit vape alternatives like nicotine pouches for kids
The government also intends to introduce legislation so that children under age 15 this year can never legally purchase tobacco products. This will bring about the first "smoke free generation" in the UK.
To enforce these regulations around vapes and tobacco, £30 million in new annual funding will go to agencies like Border Force and Trading Standards.
Quotes from UK Government and Health Leaders
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said these measures will curb the "rise in vaping among children" before it becomes widespread and endemic. While vapes can assist some adult smokers to quit, marketing them to youth is unacceptable.
Chief medical officer Professor Sir Chris Whitty stated the legislation "would have a major public health impact across many future generations" in the UK.
As Health Secretary Victoria Atkins explained, vapes "should only ever be used as a tool to quit smoking." The government aims to do more to "protect our children from illicit underage vaping."
Public Health Benefits
Health leaders emphasized smoking remains the single largest preventable cause of death in England. New smoke free generation policies can prevent kids from ever starting smoking and becoming addicted to nicotine.
Vapes currently contribute 50,000-70,000 extra smoking quits per year when utilized by adult smokers. But health risks from long term vaping remain unknown, particularly for youth.
Banning disposable vapes and restricting flavors has the potential to significantly curb underage vaping rates over time. This can reduce smoking-related disease and mortality down the road.
Political Support
While the Labour Party has criticized the time it took to introduce these measures, shadow health secretary Wes Streeting confirmed Labour will back the disposable vape ban. He said Labour aims to "ensure these important measures to protect children’s health are brought in."
So there is cross-party political consensus that curbing underage vaping requires prompt legislative action.
Conclusion
In summary, disposable vapes face an upcoming ban across the UK by late 2024, with new accompanying laws to prevent youth vaping. This addresses both the public health impacts and environmental toll of rising throwaway vape waste.
Time will tell how significantly these strict regulations reduce underage nicotine addiction by restricting access and appeal to kids. But political leaders agree firm action is essential to stem the surging rates of vaping amongst British youth today.