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Bloomberg

Disposable vapes are to be banned in the UK in an effort to protect children’s health amid a surge in use among the young.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was set to unveil the legislation during a school visit on Monday. The new powers will also ban flavours that are marketed at children and force manufacturers to use plainer packaging.
Shops will have to move vapes out of sight of children and away from the sweet counter.
Any retailer selling tobacco or vapes to underage customers face “on the spot” fines of up to £2,500 (US$3,174), under the legislation. Vaping alternatives – such as nicotine pouches – will also be banned for children.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said in December all vape flavours should be banned.
The UK measures are part of the government’s response to its consultation on smoking and vaping, launched in October last year. Sunak plans to outlaw anyone born on or after January 1, 2009 from buying tobacco, in a bid to create a “smoke free generation”.
UK to stamp out smoking with e-cigarette give away
“The long-term impacts of vaping are unknown and the nicotine within them can be highly addictive, so while vaping can be a useful tool to help smokers quit, marketing vapes to children is not acceptable,” the prime minister said.
The government pointed to data showing that the number of children vaping in the last three years has tripled, with 9 per cent of 11 to 15-year-olds now using the devices.
Disposable vapes have driven the increase. The proportion of 11 to 17-year-old vapers using disposables increasing almost ninefold in the last two years, it said.
The government added that disposable vapes are environmentally damaging. Five million are thrown away each week, a number that it says is “equivalent to the lithium batteries of 5,000 electric vehicles”.
The Welsh and Scottish governments will also introduce the ban. The Northern Ireland Assembly is not sitting since the collapse of power sharing two years ago.
In a pre-emptive strike against potential smugglers, £30 million (US$38 million) of new funding a year will be provided to bolster enforcement agencies, including the UK Border Force.
Health professionals welcomed the move. “Bold action was always needed to curb youth vaping and banning disposables is a meaningful step in the right direction,” said Mike McKean, vice-president for policy at The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.
“I’m also extremely pleased to see further much needed restrictions on flavours, packaging, and marketing of vapes.”
But the legislation also has detractors. “While the state has a duty to protect children from harm, adults must be able to make their own choices,” said Liz Truss, the former prime minister.
“Banning the sale of tobacco products to anyone born in 2009 or later will create an absurd situation where adults enjoy different rights based on their birth date. A Conservative government should not be seeking to extend the nanny state,” she said.
Additional reporting by Reuters


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Britain

UK to ban disposable vapes in bid to protect children’s health

The number of UK children vaping in the last three years has tripled. Photo: Shutterstock

There has been concern that vaping could be driving nicotine addiction among young people. Photo: Reuters

Southeast Asia gets to grips with vaping as Gen Z piles in to puff: ‘I thought it was cool’

People at a vape and e-cigarette sales kiosk in Java, Indonesia. Photo: Shutterstock 

Colourful disposable e-cigarettes on display at a trade fair. Critics say regulators have dithered over the laws associated with a product that has become wildly popular in less than a decade. Photo: dpa

A vendor sells cigarettes to a man on a street in Hanoi. Vietnamese law prohibits the sale of cigarettes to anyone under 18 years old. Photo: EPA-EFE

An Indonesian farmer arranges trays of tobacco to dry in West Java. Indonesia has one of the highest smoking rates and is one of the biggest producers of tobacco worldwide. Photo: Zuma Press Wire/dpa

A promoter uses an e-cigarette at a vaping fair in Kuala Lumpur. Neighbouring Singapore has launched a crackdown on imported vapes. Photo: AFP

Singapore boosts vape crackdown on air travellers to stop e-vaporisers from ‘taking hold in society’

Vape pens on display at a store in Melbourne, Australia. Photo: Reuters

Vapes typically contain nicotine, which is highly addictive, as well as other cancer-causing chemicals that increase the risk of heart and lung diseases. Photo: Reuters

Australia to ban vape imports as minister says ‘children are becoming addicted’

Australia will ban vape imports over child addiction concerns. Photo: Shutterstock

About one in seven Australian children aged 14-17 uses vapes. Photo: Reuters

UK plans to meet its quit smoking target by giving away 1 million free e-cigarettes

One million people in England will be offered the chance to drop their cigarettes and pick up a vape under government plans to help people quit smoking. Photo: Shutterstock

The UK government has set a target of becoming smoke free by 2030. Photo: Reuters

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New law will also ban flavours marketed at children and require plain packaging
British government to provide US$38 million a year to tackle illegal smuggling


UK prime minister also plans to outlaw anyone born on or after January 1, 2009 from buying tobacco, in a bid to create a ‘smoke free generation’.


Smoking and vaping

UK to ban disposable vapes in bid to protect children’s health

New law will also ban flavours marketed at children and require plain packaging British government to provide US$38 million a year to tackle illegal smuggling

New law will also ban flavours marketed at children and require plain packaging

British government to provide US$38 million a year to tackle illegal smuggling