Disposable vape ban ‘will not cease use by youngsters,’ campaigners warn

Banning disposable vapes will not be enough to prevent teenagers picking up the habit, campaigners have warned.

It was announced on Thursday that the sale of single-use vapes will be prohibited from next June as fears have grown youngsters are getting “hooked on nicotine”.

The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) plan has been broadly welcomed, but some experts claim more needs to be done to curb teenage use.

Hazel Cheeseman, chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health, said: “While the ban is an important show of intention from the Government, without further product and branding regulations this ban will be insufficient to address the popularity of vapes among teenagers.”

The British Medical Association added: “Cheap disposable vapes are just one of the ways that these products are targeted at young people and a ban is long overdue. But this move alone will not stop young people vaping.”

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Single-use vapes are cheap, colourfully packaged and come in a range of flavours such as “pineapple ice” and “blue raspberry lemonade”. It is illegal to sell nicotine vaping products to anyone under 18 but figures suggest 4 per cent of 11 to 15-year-olds vape regularly.

The proportion rises to 14.1 per cent of 16 to 17-year-olds, according to Action on Smoking and Health. Professor Steve Turner, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said: “A ban on disposables is absolutely the right path forward.”

Anouncing the ban, Minister for Public Health and Prevention, 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.”