You might have seen the news a few months ago about the UK government potentially banning disposable vapes. Since then, it’s all gone a little quiet, so if you’re one of the millions of disposable vape users across the country, you’re probably keen to know the latest.
In this post, we’ll give you all the info we have so far, so hopefully, by the end you’ll know where you stand and what to expect in the coming months.
Why Is The Government Considering A Ban?
When it announced the potential ban with the proposed Tobacco and Vapes Bill, the government spoke about concerns over children using these devices and said it wanted to eradicate youth vaping.
Along with the worries over minors vaping, the government has also expressed concerns about the environmental impact of vapes. On its website, the Local Government Association (LGA) said:
“The government is looking at new regulations to reduce the appeal and availability of vapes to children – while ensuring that vapes remain available for adult smokers to quit.”
“Proposals include restricting the flavours and descriptions of vapes so they are no longer targeted at children; regulating point of sale displays so that vapes are kept out of sight of children; regulating vape packaging and product presentation, ensuring that neither are targeted to children and closing loopholes in the law which allow children to get free samples and buy non-nicotine vapes.”
“The bill will strengthen enforcement activity with new powers to fine – on the spot – rogue retailers who sell tobacco products or vapes to people underage.”
“The government is also considering measures to restrict the sale and supply of disposable vapes (including considering prohibiting their sale) and action on the affordability of vapes, including exploring a new duty on vapes.”
Reading this, it’s clear that the government intends to make some sweeping changes to the current rules on vaping. How these new rules will look once they’ve been introduced is anyone’s guess, but it would appear that change is most certainly coming.
Full List Of Proposals
On the gov.uk website, the government said it would attempt to do this within the following ways:
- Regulate point-of-sale displays in retail outlets so that vapes are kept out of sight of children and away from products that will appeal to them, such as sweets.
- Consider restricting the sale of disposable vapes, which are clearly linked to the rise in vaping in children. These products are not only attractive to children but also incredibly harmful to the environment.
- Regulate vape packaging and product presentation, ensuring that neither the device nor its packaging is targeted to children.
- Explore further restrictions for non-nicotine vapes and other nicotine consumer products such as nicotine pouches.
- Exploring whether increasing the price of vapes will reduce the number of young people using them.
- Introducing new powers for local authorities to issue on-the-spot fines (fixed penalty notices) to enforce age-of-sale legislation of tobacco products and vapes.
What’s The Latest?
When the proposed ban was announced by the Local Government Association (LGA), to be perfectly honest, it took many of us by surprise. After all, the government has been a strong supporter of vaping for many years now, with the NHS advocating vape devices as a stop-smoking aid.
So to see the government make a U-turn on disposables, which are quite clearly making the transition from smoking to vaping much easier for many people, was quite surprising.
When the new restrictions were first suggested back in October, the government said it would consult the public on the matter. To initiate this, the Department of Health & Social Care released a survey for the general public to voice its opinion on the matter.
The survey covered all bases, not just disposables, asking the public about its experiences with vapes and how e-cigarettes had impacted their lives. The survey closed on Wednesday 6th December 2023 and the government will now be sifting through the data to decide on its next move.
What Will Happen If Disposables Are Banned?
It’s difficult to say for sure what will happen if the government does go ahead with the ban, but with so many people vaping disposables alone, it’s clear that some of those will simply go back to smoking due to the sheer convenience.
The ease of use is what makes disposables so appealing to many. The fact you can simply pop open the box and start vaping is a major draw, but if they were suddenly taken away, would all disposable vapers suddenly buy a refillable e-cigarette and start vaping those instead?
Some no doubt will, but for whatever reason, many disposable vapers would rather not refill their device, change coils and recharge their e-cig. And for those, once those nicotine cravings start to kick in and they’re no longer able to get their hand on their favourite disposables, the only logical alternative will be cigarettes.
Blackmarket Demand
Another worry, if legitimate devices are banned, is that the black market could simply fill the void with unregulated devices. This is precisely what happened in Australia after the country banned vapes to anyone without a prescription.
Instead of going to the doctor to get a script for a vape (many have also been rejected), people have simply bought dodgy, illegal ones, which has caused a boom in black market sales.
If we look at Australia, it’s easy to see the same situation unfolding here. If people are accustomed to using disposables and they’re being sold under the counter in corner shops or market stalls, many of them won’t think twice about whether they’re regulated or not.
But these vapes cannot be trusted. With nobody regulating them, who knows what’s in them? They could contain banned ingredients or massive amounts of nicotine. So this is another potential disaster waiting to happen if and when the government brings in a ban on disposable vapes.
Preparing With A Refillable Kit
If the ban does come into force, which does look likely at this point, it’s important to prepare yourself for the changes. If you’re someone who relies heavily on disposables, as pointed out above, unless you switch to a refillable kit then the temptation to go back to cigarettes will be strong.
Although refillable devices may seem tricky and complex for someone who’s used to the premium convenience of disposables, there’s actually not a lot to it. In fact, some refillable kits are almost as straightforward as single-use vapes.
Take pod devices, for instance. Unlike other vape kits, with these, you don’t need to change any coils. That’s because the pods are fully removable and come with a built-in coil, so once it expires you just throw it in the bin and swap it for a new one.
These kits are also great if you like variety in your vaping as you can have multiple pods with different flavours on rotation. Bored of a certain flavour. Simply swap the pod for a new one in seconds!
Likewise, vape pens are also extremely straightforward. As most of them are free from complicated settings or confusing features, these devices provide a simplified, hassle-free vape. They also offer great flavour and cloud production, while their mouth-to-lung (MTL) style makes them ideal for smokers or ex-smokers.
Lastly, mod devices add a new dimension to your vaping experience. These devices are often much more powerful than other kits on the market, and they’re capable of producing massive amounts of vaping.
Although these sub-ohm devices offer a completely different vaping experience than disposables, this could be viewed as a positive.
Some would argue that disposables offer quite a restrictive, basic vaping experience. And while that undoubtedly works for some, as you progress on your vaping journey you’ll realise there are many different styles of vaping and you could get much more from your hobby than you’d ever imagined.
Conclusion
So although we’re not yet sure if vapes will be banned, it’s important to prepare for the worst so you’re not caught out if a ban does eventually come in.
Although we believe the reasons for stopping the sale of disposables don’t make sense and the ban will do more harm than good in the long run, ultimately we have little control over the laws the government puts into place.
If an all-out ban on disposables does come into play, it’s unlikely the new rules will be enforced right away. With retailers sitting on large numbers of stocks, there’ll need to be time to allow businesses to adapt and start educating customers on the upcoming rule changes.
Our advice would be to keep your eye on the news and prepare for any changes to the rules accordingly. We’ll be sure to keep you updated with any news on this subject when it becomes available.
