Herefordshire and Worcestershire Councils welcome government's ban on disposable vapes
As of yesterday (1 June) it's now officially illegal to sell a disposable vape
The director of Worcestershire's regulatory services says he welcomes the government's ban on disposable vapes.
Coming into force from yesterday (1 June), the Government has now made it illegal to sell or supply all single-use vapes.
Simon Wilkes overseas the Worcestershire County Council's trading standards team, he says these vapes have had a real impact on the environment by not being binned correctly and welcomes the ban.
He said: “Vaping is a really good way of intervening for people who want to give up smoking tobacco, but generally from a public health perspective, ideally we wouldn't want to see anybody who's never smoked using vapes.
“We've found from a local government perspective, a lot of these disposable vapes have just been discarded so they end up in the waste stream and that's been creating a number of issues as they should be recycled.
“What we've seen over the past 18 months is the number of outlets carrying vapes has fallen, last year we seized fewer vapes than we seized in the previous two years and a lot of them now seem to be sold alongside illicit tobacco and the key thing for us is to continue to tackle that side of things.”
Environmental impact
Last year, the Material Focus group estimated that almost five million single-use vapes were either littered or thrown away in general waste every week in the UK, the equivalent of eight being thrown away per second.
Isobel Adams is from Herefordshire Council’s public health team and she says the ban should have a positive impact on people's health and the environment.
“The bill will help to tackle the significant increase in youth vaping over the last few years," she said.
“Last year, 18% of 11–17-year-olds had tried vaping, disposables being the most popular product among young people who vape, and the long-term health impacts of vaping are unknown, they should only be used by adults trying to quit cigarettes.
“Our message has always been if you don’t smoke, don’t vape and the bill will also reduce the environmental impact these products are having on our planet, the plastics used in disposable vapes don’t break down so the casing to one could last around 600 years if buried in the earth."
Fire service issue warning to those using chargeable vapes
Hereford & Worcester fire and rescue service have also urged people who vape to take extra care when charging their devices.
The service are anticipating following the ban on disposable vapes, it may mean that more vape users switch to rechargeable devices with them wanting to highlight the increased fire risks associated with charging lithium-ion batteries.
Head of prevention Emma Roberts said:"In Herefordshire and Worcestershire in the five-year period between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2024, 40 accidental fires were caused by lithium I-on batteries.
This highlights the importance of charging batteries in a safe way, and it is crucial to use the battery and charger that came with your vape and if you need a replacement, always buy from a reputable source.”
The ban applies across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.