UK Disposable Vape Ban Is Imminent

Disposable Vapes. The two words which have caused no end of trouble, controversy and unwanted attention for the Vaping industry over the last two years. 

From counterfeit Disposables being seized by the tonne by Trading Standards agencies, shops selling them to underage users, and them being the sole reason for the youth vaping statistics creeping up year on year, the problems from these devices have been somewhat never ending and it’s caused for anti vaping campaigners to make calls for these devices to be banned from sale to stop these problems. 

And news has broken this week that these wishes from the campaigners and groups may well be coming to fruition as early as next week with an impending BAN of sale of Disposable Vapes here in the UK. In this blog, I’m going to take a look at this in detail as well as looking at other countries that have already stopped these devices being sold. 

The Uprise Of Disposable Vapes

Disposable Vapes as we know them today first entered on to the market around two years ago. But in reality, single use/disposable vapes have actually been around on the market a lot longer than people realise. With the original “cig-a-like” devices being marketed since the dawn of existence for vaping devices. 

But the ones sold today are completely different to those ones from yester-year, with completely different designs, as well as packaging and flavours as well. 

The current Disposable Vape market today is absolutely saturated with different brands and flavours that people are essentially spoilt for choice when it comes to picking a flavour, with 100’s available to choose from. The primary brands that rule the market are Elf Bar, Lost Mary, Geekbar and the newest brand that seems to be taking the market by storm Crystal Bars. 

Disposables have become a popular option for people when it comes to vaping due to the fact they are simple and easy to use and ready to go straight from the packet. No need to refill or change coils or anything, just take it out of the packaging and they’re ready to go! But it’s not just adults that are using them, as statistics from surveys have shown that underage users are getting their hands on these devices and using them, with a meteoric rise in usage amongst 11-17 year olds as their preferred vape of choice, which is just bad news for the vaping industry, and it’s with this that’s leading to the Government’s impending decision…

UK Government Set To BAN Disposable Vapes 

News has broken this week which has given a clear indication of the Government’s intention that they are intending on BANNING the sale of Disposable Vapes here in the UK and this could be taking place as early as next week. 

Councils, Ministers, Paediatricians and various others have issued urgent calls to the Government to intervene and do something about Disposable Vapes to not only stop youths accessing them and using them, but also to start reducing the harm that these are having on the environment due to the amount being dumped into landfill every single week, more on this in the next section. 

The concerns from the above mentioned is that youths are getting their hands on these Disposable Vapes and forming an unnecessary addiction to Nicotine, with a lot of them previously being never smokers. They also carry and stand by the belief that vaping is a gateway to smoking, but this has already been cleared up that this isn’t true and studies have proven it as well. 

Schools are finding themselves in a constant battle against students using these devices on school premises, and having to police secluded areas such as toilets and hallways to ensure they aren’t being used, and schools are even installing vape smoke alarms to discourage the use of them on school property. 

The main problem with Disposables as they are marketed today is the fact they are brightly coloured devices, as well as in brightly coloured packaging which could be appealing to a younger audience, and the flavours used in them can be attractive to youths as well. 

But this isn’t the only reason that the ban is impending, as the environmental issues are now becoming even more alarming than before…

Over 5 MILLION Disposables Are Being Dumped Into Landfill Every Week

Now this really is a huge cause for concern, and shocked me when I read updated statistics regarding the amount of Disposables being put into landfill each week, and it’s now hit astronomical levels compared to what it was a few months back. 

In one of my previous articles, I wrote about the fact that a million Disposables are being dumped into landfill every week. Fast forward to current day, and it’s estimated now that 5.5 MILLION used Disposable Vapes are being discarded into landfill every week, with over 7 million units being sold every week in the UK. 

To give some context to this, this is over 4 times the amount of what it was at the tail end of last year when I previously wrote about it, and it’s actually shocked me to see it’s that much! 

Despite Disposable Vapes being made from plastic, they are unable to be recycled due to the fact that they contain a small lithium ion battery which eliminates them from being able to be safely recycled as the battery could combust when put under pressure at a recycling centre. Therefore they have to go into general waste which goes into landfills across the UK, and plastic takes over 200 years to degrade, so imagine just how much plastic is sitting in our landfills not going anywhere…it’s alot!

How To Still Enjoy Disposable Vape Flavours Without Using a Disposable

We are not fans of Disposable Vapes here at Vape69 so we wanted to come up with an idea for our customers to enjoy the rich and tasty flavours of Disposable Vapes without having to use one of these devices that are causing serious problems to our industry as well as our envrionment. 

Therefore we have created our own range of 10ml Disposable Vape Flavours which have been inspired by the most popular flavours of Disposable Vapes, but in 10ml nic salts that can be used in any device! 

Vape Bar Nic Salts are our premium brand of Nic Salt Vape Juice that gives you the rich flavours of Disposable Vapes for a fraction of the price of what a Disposable Vape costs! When you buy a Disposable Vape, you only get 2ml of vape juice and you’ll be paying £5 minimum for it as well. 

If you opt to buy a bottle of Vape Bar Nic Salts, you get 10ml of high quality UK made vape juice for only £1.69, which is just over a third of the cost of one Disposable and you get 5 times the amount of E-Liquid! Check out a few of our best selling flavours below, as well as taking a browse of the whole collection by clicking this link

Are The UK Following Other Countries?

Some reports are saying that the UK are “lagging behind” by only now potentially introducing a ban on Disposable Vapes as other countries have already introduced bans on the sale of Disposable Vapes to try and stop issues with youth vaping as well as the environmental harm they’re causing. 

The most recent country to introduce a ban is New Zealand after a long time of deliberation and back and forth, the plans have been introduced to ban the sale of Disposable Vapes as they are known today, and if any Disposable Vapes are to be sold, they must contain a removeable battery which the current Disposable Vapes do not have the ability to de attach them, without imposing a risk to safety. 

Australia have banned vapes that contain Nicotine unless acquired from a Pharmacy with a valid prescription, and also the USA are bringing the hammer down heavily on the sale of these devices as well, despite the fact that the import of these devices from China to the USA has reached astronomical levels. 

I’ve spoken about these things in more detail in a separate blog which you can take a read of by following this link

Conclusion

To summarise and conclude this article, I personally believe that this is the right thing to do by the Government here in the UK providing the news is correct and action is taken.

The problems have been ongoing for a long enough now and intervention has been needed for a long time to stop the youth vaping numbers increasing and also the harm to the environment from ever increasing with these absurd numbers of discarded Disposables being dumped into landfill every month. 

I’ll keep you updated with any news that comes out if this ban does happen so keep an eye out for future blogs here on Vape69!