Rishi Sunak plots ban on vapes months after crack down on cigarettes (Image: Getty)
Disposable vapes will be outlawed in the UK as part of a tough new crackdown to tackle the rise in youth vaping, Rishi Sunak will announce today. Mr Sunak said the move comes amid a “worrying” tripling of the number of children using vapes in the past three years.
Use among younger children is also surging, with nine per cent of 11 to 15-year-olds now puffing on vapes.
The ban forms part of the Prime Minister’s plan to create a "smoke-free generation" and improve the nation’s health.
The long-term health impacts of vaping are unknown and the nicotine contained within them can be highly addictive.
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Experts have warned withdrawal can cause anxiety with users having trouble concentrating and headaches.
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Ministers argue that 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 them increasing almost ninefold in the last two years.
Under the new crackdown 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 the 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.
Shops caught selling disposable vapes to children will be slapped with a ￡2500 fine.
Vaping alternatives – such as nicotine pouches – will also be outlawed for children.
Mr Sunak said: “As any parent or teacher knows, one of the most worrying trends at the moment is the rise in vaping among children, and so we must act before it becomes endemic.
“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.
“As Prime Minister I have an obligation to do what I think is the right thing for our country in the long term. That is why I am taking bold action to ban disposable vapes – which have driven the rise in youth vaping – and bring forward new powers to restrict vape flavours, introduce plain packaging and change how vapes are displayed in shops."
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“Alongside our commitment to stop children who turn 15 this year or younger from ever legally being sold cigarettes, these changes will leave a lasting legacy by protecting our children’s health for the long term”.
The disposable vape ban was supported by almost 70 per cent of parents, teachers, healthcare professionals and the general public following a consultation.
Ministers argue that vape 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.
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Smoking is the UK’s single biggest preventable killer – causing around one in four cancer deaths and leading to 80,000 deaths per year.
Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty said: “Smoking damages and cuts short lives in extraordinary numbers."
“Stillbirths, cancer, asthma, dementia, stroke and heart failure – smoking causes disability and death throughout the life course. If passed, this legislation would have a major public health impact across many future generations.”
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