A ban on the sale of disposable vapes is set to come into effect on Sunday, the 1st of June
Say goodbye to your blue razz and strawberry lemonade Elf Bars because those fruity lung killers will be more difficult to score after Sunday, when a long-awaited plan to ban single-use disposable vapes comes into effect.
Good old Rishi’s government proposed the ban, which has been carried out and supported by Starmer. A rare case of the two agreeing on something
These single-use vapes are discarded after a single use, with Brits actually discarding an estimated five million each week.
The ban is designed to address the environmental impact of waste and only applies to single-use vapes, such as Elf Bars. Saving the environment one artificially flavoured puff at a time, because often they’re thrown into general waste and not properly recycled. More often than not, they sit in a landfill surrounded by their discarded Blue Razz brethren, leaking microplastics into the environment.
The Material Focus group found that more than 40 tonnes of lithium in single-use vapes were thrown out in 2022. That is enough batteries to power 5000 electric vehicles.
But don’t worry it won’t be illegal to own a disposable vape after the 1st, they will just have to be disposed of responsibly in speciality ‘vape bins’
In England and Wales, if you are found selling or supplying these vapes, you could be charged with a £250 fine, and if there are repeated offences, you could risk serving two years in prison.
I’m sure some will find themselves deep in the vape cartels smuggling candyfloss flavoured nicotine sticks across borders.
Overall, it’s probably for the best. Because nothing says ‘I care for the environment’ more than a puff of mango-flavoured nicotine from a lithium stick wrapped in unrecyclable plastic.
Let’s not forget the health effects of these vapes. One of these innocent-looking tubes actually contains the same amount of nicotine as 20 cigarettes, not to mention the cocktail of chemicals, the effects of which we are yet to determine. And with their innocent colours, funky flavours arguably make them more appealing and concerning amongst children. Public health charity Action on Smoking and Health. 8% of adult Vape users said they had never even tried a cigarette before. According to NHS England, a quarter of 11 to 15-year-olds have tried vaping, and nearly 1 in 10 (9%) do it frequently.
But retailers aren’t exactly shaking in their vape clouds. Amit from ExpertVape in Sheffield said the ban won’t hurt their business and is better for the environment.
He said: “It won’t make much of a difference, all the big sharks already have an alternative for this … before they didn’t have a huge variety but now they have a huge variety now that there is going to be a ban…it might hurt initially, but we will be fine.”
The vape world already has its nicotine-soaked plan B ready to go. Manufacturers have been busy churning out barely different products that tick all the legal boxes. Business as usual, just with slightly different packaging.
As the fruity fog clears and these disposable vapes vanish from our shelves, we should ask ourselves, was it ever a good idea to be inhaling watermelon-flavoured smoke from a neon coloured USB stick? Probably not.
Whether you picked it up for the vapes for the flavour, the clout, or just to quit smoking, the message by the government is clear: save your lungs and the environment. If you fancy something sweet, try having some actual fruit and spare your lungs and the people around you from a cloud of cherry cola chemicals.
