Disposable vapes will be banned in the UK as part of ambitious government plans to tackle the rise in youth vaping and protect children’s health
Disposable vapes will be banned in the UK as part of ambitious government plans to tackle the rise in youth vaping and protect children’s health, the Prime Minister has announced today [Monday 29 January] on a visit to a school.
The measure comes as part of the government’s response to its consultation on smoking and vaping, which was launched in October last year.
Recent figures show the number of children using vapes in the past three years has tripled. Use among younger children is also rising, with 9% of 11 to 15-year-olds now using vapes. The long-term health impacts of vaping are unknown and the nicotine contained within them can be highly addictive, with withdrawal sometimes causing anxiety, trouble concentrating and headaches. While vaping can play a role in helping adult smokers to quit, children should never vape.
Disposable vapes have been a key driver behind the alarming rise in youth vaping, with the proportion of 11 to 17-year-old vapers using disposables increasing almost ninefold in the last two years.
As part of today’s package, new powers will be introduced to restrict flavours which are specifically marketed at children and ensure that manufacturers produce plainer, less visually appealing packaging. The powers will also allow government to change how vapes are displayed in shops, moving them out of sight of children and away from products that appeal to them like sweets.
To crack down on underage sales, the government will also bring in new fines for shops in England and Wales which sell vapes illegally to children. Trading standards officers will be empowered to act ‘on the spot’ to tackle underage tobacco and vape sales. This builds on a maximum £2,500 fine that local authorities can already impose.
Vaping alternatives – such as nicotine pouches – will also be outlawed for children who are increasingly turning to these highly addictive substitutes.
The government has again reiterated its commitment to bring about the first smokefree generation and introduce legislation so children turning fifteen this year or younger can never legally be sold tobacco.
Smoking is the UK’s single biggest preventable killer – causing around one in four cancer deaths and leading to 80,000 deaths per year – so stopping young people from ever starting to smoke will protect an entire generation, and future generations, from smoking harms as they grow up.
To help ensure the success of the smokefree generation plan, £30 million new funding a year will be provided to bolster enforcement agencies – including Border Force, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and Trading Standards – to implement these measures and stamp out opportunities for criminals.
The Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, said:
There was overwhelming support among responses to the government’s consultation for a disposable vape ban, with nearly 70% of parents, teachers, healthcare professionals and the general public supportive of the measure.
The government has a duty to protect children’s health, which is why it is taking bold and decisive action on smoking and vaping. This is the responsible thing to do to protect children for generations to come.
Health and Social Care Secretary Victoria Atkins said:
Vapes should only be used by adults as a tool to quit smoking. They contribute to an extra 50,000-70,000 smoking quits a year in England.
As part of the government’s Swap to Stop scheme, almost one in five of all adult smokers in England will have access to a vape kit alongside behavioural support to help them quit the habit and improve health outcomes.
Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty said:
Health Minister Andrea Leadsom said:
As well as benefitting children’s health, the ban will have a positive impact on the environment. Five million disposable vapes are thrown away each week, up from 1.3 million from last year. Over a year this is equivalent to the lithium batteries of 5,000 electric vehicles.
Environment Secretary Steve Barclay said:
The 10-week public consultation on ‘Creating a smokefree generation and tackling youth vaping’, closed on 6 December. Over 25,000 responses were analysed, and the government response sets out plans for upcoming legislation which will be introduced in Parliament shortly.
Creating a smokefree generation goes beyond the harm to public health. The trade in illicit cigarettes, hand-rolling tobacco and other tobacco products has far reaching implications.
HMRC estimates that the illicit tobacco trade costs the UK economy around £2.8 billion a year in lost revenue - money that should fund our public services.
Today, HMRC and Border Force will publish a new Illicit Tobacco Strategy, ‘Stubbing Out the Problem’, which:
Supportive Stakeholder Reaction
Dame Rachel de Souza, the Children’s Commissioner for England:
The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) Vice President for Policy, Dr Mike McKean, said:
Cllr David Fothergill, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s (LGA) Community Wellbeing Board said:
Henry Gregg, Director of External Affairs at Asthma + Lung UK, said:
Dr Ian Walker, executive director of policy at Cancer Research UK, said:
Libby Peake, Head of Resource Policy, Green Alliance
Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, Chief Executive of environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, said:
Gavin Graveson, Veolia Senior Executive Vice President, Northern Europe, said:
Notes for Editors
The government response to the consultation ‘Creating a smokefree generation and tackling youth vaping’ will be available on Gov.uk on Monday 29 January.
The new Illicit Tobacco Strategy, which was announced in the DHSC’s October 2023 smokefree generation policy paper ‘Stopping the Start’:
HMRC and Border Force’s new Illicit Tobacco Strategy ‘Stubbing Out the Problem’ will be published on GOV.UK on Monday 29 January 2024.
The £2.8 billion tax gap as published in Measuring tax gaps 2023 edition: tax gap estimates for 2021 to 2022 comprises £2.2 billion of excise duty and £0.6 billion in VAT.
The previous HMRC and Border Force tobacco strategy, ‘From Leaf to Light’, was published in 2015. The new strategy builds on its success and addresses changes in the illicit tobacco market, and how we will tackle current and future challenges.
HMRC and Border Force encourage anyone with information about the smuggling, distribution or sale of illicit tobacco to report it online.