Disposable vapes set to be banned in UK to stop kids becoming addicted

The UK could be set to ban disposable vapes to prevent addiction among children, with the government to announce new proposals.

Campaigners have been calling for tougher preventative measures to be in place amid concerns of youths vaping, with stricter marketing regulations including a tax on the disposable devices.

Pressure on ministers from paediatricians, councillors and public waste campaigners has been mounting to make single-use vapes illegal on health and environmental grounds.

Brightly coloured packaging along with sweet and fruity flavours have proved attractive, particularly among teenagers.

The government is expected to make an announcement soon, and if banned, the UK would follow in the footsteps of countries like France and New Zealand.

The move could come as early as next week if the government concludes the disposable products are overwhelmingly aimed at children and young people, who are at risk of developing an addiction to them.

A senior source at Whitehall told The Telegraph today: “Disposable vapes are almost entirely aimed at kids and they are environmentally damaging. 

“There is a wide consensus emerging on the need to act.”

However, government ministers are understood to have stopped short of a ban on all vaping without a prescription, as it is widely thought to be a good alternative to helping smokers quit the habit.

Early this morning, science and technology secretary Michelle Donolan told Sky News in an interview the government ‘have been looking into this’.

She said it will be ‘doing a review because this is a very worrying trend that we’re seeing of young children taking up vaping that had never smoked before, and it is extremely dangerous to their health and their wellbeing’.

But when asked whether the government will be banning single-use vapes, she added: “We’ll be making further announcements on that.”

Data suggests 11.6% of 11-16-year-olds have already tried vaping with 15.5% of 16-24-year olds admitting to vaping daily or occasionally.

NHS figures also show a rise in the number of children admitted to hospital in ‘vaping-related disorders’.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has also revealed a surge to one in eight young females taking up the habit of vaping.

Now, it is believed around 4.5 million Brits vape, a rise of 500,000 in the last 12 months. 

A Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) spokesperson said: “We are concerned about the rise in youth vaping and the environmental impacts of disposable vapes.

“That is why we launched a call for evidence to identify opportunities to reduce the number of children accessing and using vaping products – and explore where the government can go further.

“We will set out our response in due course.”

Both Ireland and Germany have outlined their plans to put restrictions on vapes, with Germany considering banning single-use vapes.

Australia has also put measures in place to make vaping only available to those with a prescription.