The UK Government has published draft regulations setting out the scope of the ban on the supply and sale of disposable vapes in England.
The draft legislation, due to come into force on 1 April 2025, applies to both nicotine and non-nicotine containing products.
Fines of up to £200 may be issued to someone supplying, offering to supply or having in their possession in order to supply, a single-use vape.
To determine whether an offence has been committed, an enforcement officer may be authorised to ‘enter at any reasonable time any premises (other than premises used wholly or mainly as a dwelling) which the enforcement officer has reason to suspect it is necessary to enter’.
They may also ‘take such measurements and photographs and make such recordings as the enforcement officer considers necessary’, ‘take any samples, or cause samples to be taken, of any articles or substances found’ and ‘cause any such articles or substances to be analysed or tested’.
The UK Government announced its decision to ban disposable vapes in January 2024, after an eight-week consultation on Creating a smokefree generation and tackling youth vaping. Nearly 70 per cent of consultation responses, including from parents, teachers, healthcare professionals and the general public, were supportive of the measure.
The Scottish Government and Welsh Government have also confirmed they plan to introduce legislation.
The ban is intended to reduce the public health and environmental risks of disposable vapes, as well as discourage youth vaping.
Disposable vapes not only utilise precious resources but are often carelessly discarded, polluting our soil and water. Industry research suggests that five million disposable vapes are thrown away each week, representing a large and growing stream of hard-to-recycle waste.
The UK Government is accepting comments on the draft legislation until 25 March and is hosting an explanatory interactive webinar on Tuesday 19 March.
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