UK to ban sale of disposable vapes by next summer

LONDON - The sale of disposable vapes will be banned by next summer, reported German Press Agency (dpa), quoting the UK government.

New legislation to ban the sale of single-use vapes from June 1, 2025 has been laid out in Parliament, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) confirmed on Wednesday.

It added that businesses will have until the deadline "to sell any remaining stock they hold and prepare for the ban coming into force."

Defra said the UK Government and devolved governments had worked closely on the ban and would "align coming into force dates."

Circular Economy Minister Mary Creagh said single-use vapes were "extremely wasteful and blight our towns and cities."

Creagh added: "That is why we are banning single use vapes as we end this nation's throwaway culture.

"This is the first step on the road to a circular economy, where we use resources for longer, reduce waste, accelerate the path to net-zero and create thousands of jobs across the country."

Last year, it was estimated that almost 5 million single-use vapes were either littered or thrown away in general waste every week in the UK - almost four times as much as the previous year.

Defra said vape usage in England had grown by more than 400 per cent between 2012 and 2023, with 9.1 per cent of the British public now buying and using the products.

Health Minister Andrew Gwynne said: "It's deeply worrying that a quarter of 11-15-year-olds used a vape last year and we know disposables are the product of choice for the majority of kids vaping today.

"Banning disposable vapes will not only protect the environment, but importantly reduce the appeal of vapes to children and keep them out of the hands of vulnerable young people.

"The government will also introduce the Tobacco and Vapes Bill - the biggest public health intervention in a generation - which will protect young people from becoming hooked on nicotine and pave the way for a smoke-free UK."

On Monday, Health Secretary Wes Streeting promised to toughen up smoking laws with a "more ambitious" bill than the Conservatives.

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill, tabled in the last parliament, sought to prevent anyone born after January 1, 2009 from legally smoking by gradually raising the age at which tobacco can be bought.

It also aimed to impose restrictions on the sale and marketing of vapes to children.

Streeting told reporters at an east London health facility on Monday: "We will introduce the Tobacco and Vapes Bill before Christmas."

Libby Peake, head of resources at Green Alliance, said: "Disposable vapes are the last thing our children and the planet need, and for too long the market for them has been allowed to grow unchecked." - BERNAMA-dpa