Disposable vapes will soon be banned as part of measures to tackle the “endemic” of young people using the alternatives to cigarettes, the Government has said.
Measures will also look to prevent companies from marketing vapes to children.
Rishi Sunak is expected to announce the planned ban, which looks set to be rolled out across the UK, during a visit to a school later today.
In a statement, the Prime Minister said: “As any parent or teacher knows, one of the most worrying trends at the moment is the rise in vaping among children, and so we must act before it becomes endemic.”
Disposable vapes will be banned across Great Britain
GETTY
Action on Smoking and Health, a charity established in 1971 vowing to eliminate the harm caused by tobacco, released data showing 7.6 per cent of 11 to 17-year-olds vape regularly.
The figure stood at just 4.1 per cent in 2020.
A ban on vaping comes after the Government announced separate efforts to prevent the sale of cigarettes to anyone born on or after January 1, 2009.
It is already illegal to sell vapes to anyone under 18.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
A pile of disposable vapes
GETTY
However, disposable vapes are seen as the key driver behind the rise in youth vaping.
It has not yet been confirmed when the ban will come into force.
But it is likely it could be brought in using existing legislation designed to protect the environment.
Vaping alternatives like nicotine pouches, including small white pouches that are placed between the lip and gum, will also be banned for children.
It is already illegal to sell vapes to people under 18
GETTY
The NHS has previously claimed vaping is less harmful than smoking but has not been around for long enough to know its long-term risks.
Devolved administrations in Scotland and Wales said they would also introduce bans.
Scottish public health minister, Jenni Minto, said disposable vapes were a “threat to both public health”.
Welsh deputy minister for wellbeing, Lynne Neagle, also said that “vaping carries a risk of harm and addiction for children”.
Disposable vape bans have also been announced in Australia, France, Germany, and New Zealand.
The number of young people vaping has grown rapidly in recent years
GETTY
However, campaigners have been divided on the expected ban.
Deborah Arnott, chief executive of Ash, said that the “Government’s strategy is the right one: stop smoking initiation, support smokers to quit…, while protecting children by curbing youth vaping”.
Dr Camilla Kingdon, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said the organisation was “thrilled to see the government take the first necessary steps to create a smoke-free generation”.
However, the UK Vaping Industry Association argued vapes have “played a key role in helping millions of adults quit and stay off cigarettes”.
It added: “While action to prevent youth access to vaping is critical, this move smacks more of a desperate attempt by the government to sacrifice vapers for votes.”
