UK : A government minister announced on Thursday that single-use e-cigarettes will be banned in Britain beginning next year in an effort to curb environmental harm and rising child use.
Health officials have expressed concern regarding the use of e-cigarettes by young adults because of their bright designs and fruity flavors, which make them stand out on grocery store shelves.
A survey conducted by the health charity ASH in 2024 found that approximately one in five children aged 11 to 17 reported having tried vaping.
It is against the law to sell e-cigarettes containing nicotine to minors or for adults to buy them on behalf of minors.
The previous Conservative government’s plan to outlaw disposable vapes was first laid out in January, but it wasn’t put into action until the Labour Party won the election in July.
The culture minister for Labour stated that disposable vapes were causing numerous environmental issues and that the number of children vaping had tripled in the past three years.
She stated to Sky News, “We have been increasingly concerned.”
“We hope (this) will help break this cycle in which children are becoming vapers at ever younger ages,” the authors write.
Reuters inquired about the measure’s specifics, but the government’s Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra) did not immediately respond. According to reports in the media, the ban would take effect in June.
This year, a separate ASH study found that vaping was the most popular method for tobacco smokers to quit, with nearly three million British smokers using vaping to quit in the last five years.