UK ban on disposable vapes goes into effect
LONDON : A ban on disposable vapes goes into effect across the UK tomorrow in a bid to protect children's health and tackle a 'throwaway' culture.
'For too long, single-use vapes have blighted our streets as litter and hooked our children on nicotine,' junior environment minister Mary Creagh said.
She said the government was calling 'time on these nasty devices' – a type of e-cigarette which are very popular with young people – and banning sales of single-use vapes or their supply in a crackdown on UK corner shops and supermarkets.
Those caught flouting the ban will face a £200 fine, while repeat offenders risk up to two years in prison.
Young people and children in particular have been attracted to cheap and colourful disposable vapes, which have snazzy flavours such as mint, chocolate, mango or watermelon, since they were introduced in the UK in 2021.
In 2024, nearly 5 million disposable vapes were thrown away each week, according to Material Focus, an independent UK-based non-profit.
More than 40 tonnes of lithium, a key metal used in the technology industry, was discarded each year along with single-use vapes – enough to power 5,000 electrical vehicles, the NGO said.
Fire services have also warned about the risk of discarded vapes catching light among household rubbish.
'Every vape has potential to start a fire if incorrectly disposed of,' said Justin Greenaway, commercial manager at electronic waste processing company SWEEEP Kuusakoski.
The new law, first proposed by the previous Conservative government, also aims to stem a rise in vaping.
'This new law is a step towards reducing vaping among children, while ensuring products are available to support people to quit smoking,' said Caroline Cerny, deputy chief executive for health charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH).
A recent ASH survey said 11% of adults vape, or about 5.6 million people, and 18% of 11 to 17 year olds – about 980,000 under 18s.
Among vapers, some 52% of young adults aged between 18 to 24 preferred single-use vapes.
The long-term health risks of vaping remain unclear.
E-cigarettes do not produce tar or carbon monoxide, two of the most harmful elements in tobacco smoke.
But they do still contain highly addictive nicotine.
The upcoming ban has already led to a fall in disposable vapes.
According to ASH, the use of disposables by 18-24-year-old vapers fell from 52% in 2024 to 40% in 2025.
The UK ban follows similar European moves.
Belgium and France became the first EU countries to ban sales of disposable vapes.
Ireland is also preparing to introduce new restrictions.
But critics have argued many users will simply switch to refillable or reusable vaping devices, which will limit the impact on nicotine consumption.
And industry experts say the ban could lead to more illegal products entering the UK market.
The bill 'only makes it illegal to sell disposable vapes – it does not prohibit their use', warned Dan Marchant, director of Vape Club, the UK's largest online vape retailer.
'We risk a surge of illegal and potentially dangerous items flooding the black market.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Malay Mail
8 hours ago
- Malay Mail
One year after Southport, Epping protests spark fears of new summer riots in UK amid migrant anger
EPPING, July 25 — Concern is mounting that recent violent anti-immigrant protests could herald a new summer of unrest, a year after the UK was rocked by its worst riots in decades. Police have arrested 16 people since protests flared last week outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in the town of Epping, northeast of London. In one demonstration, eight police officers were injured. The unrest was 'not just a troubling one-off', said the chairwoman of the Police Federation, Tiff Lynch. 'It was a signal flare. A reminder of how little it takes for tensions to erupt and how ill-prepared we remain to deal with it,' she wrote in the Daily Telegraph. Protestors shouted 'save our children' and 'send them home', while banners called for the expulsion of 'foreign criminals'. Cabinet minister Jonathan Reynolds on Thursday urged people not to speculate or exaggerate the situation, saying 'the government, all the key agencies, the police, they prepare for all situations. 'I understand the frustrations people have,' he told Sky News. The government was trying to fix the problem and that the number of hotels occupied by asylum seekers had dropped from 400 to 200, he added. The issue of thousands of irregular migrants arriving in small boats across the Channel, coupled with the UK's worsening economy, has triggered rising anger among some Britons. Such sentiments have been amplified by inflammatory messaging on social networks, fuelled by far-right activists. Almost exactly a year ago on July 29, 2024, three young girls were stabbed to death in a frenzied attack in northwestern Southport. The shocking killings stoked days of riots across the country after false reports that the killer — a UK-born teenager whose family came to the country from Rwanda after the 1994 genocide — was a migrant. Nearly 24,000 migrants have made the perilous journey across the Channel so far in 2025, the highest-ever tally at this point in a year. The issue has become politically perilous, putting pressure on Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer's centre-left government, as the anti-immigrant, far-right Reform UK party rises in the polls. 'More unrest likely' The Epping protests were stirred after a 38-year-old asylum seeker, who only arrived in Britain in late June, was arrested and charged with three counts of sexual assault. Images from the protests have gone viral on social networks, mirroring what happened last July. But Epping residents have maintained that the protests are being fuelled by people from outside the community. 'These violent scenes ... are not Epping, and they are not what we stand for,' the Conservative MP for Epping, Neil Hudson, told parliament Monday. While calm was restored to Epping, a middle-class suburban town with a population of 12,000, tensions remain palpable. 'This is the first time something like this has happened,' one local who lives close to the Bell Hotel told AFP, asking not to be named. 'The issue is not the hotel, but extremists applying a political ideology,' he added. Late on Thursday, the hotel, cordoned off behind barriers, was again the centre of a protest involving dozens of people, with police making one arrest. With another protest expected on Sunday, the local council voted through a motion to demand the government no longer house asylum seekers at the hotel. The UK is 'likely to see more racist riots take place this summer', said Aurelien Mondon, politics professor and expert on far-right and reactionary discourse at Bath University. Anti-immigrant protests have already erupted elsewhere, with demonstrations in the southeastern town of Diss in Norfolk outside a similar hotel on Monday. Last month, clashes flared for several days in the town of Ballymena in Northern Ireland after two teenagers with Romanian roots were arrested for the alleged attempted rape of a young girl. 'Civil disobedience' 'It is well documented that many of the protests we are witnessing are not the result of grassroots, local movements,' Mondon said. 'Social media plays a role and facilitates coordination amongst extreme-right groups,' but it is 'also crucial not to exaggerate' its power, he added. High-profile far-right activist Tommy Robinson, who was blamed for stoking the Southport unrest, announced he would be in Epping on Sunday, before later seeming to scrap the plan. The firebrand anti-Islam campaigner has just been freed from jail after spreading fake news about a Syrian immigrant, but faces trial on a separate issue in 2026. 'I don't think anybody in London even understands just how close we are to civil disobedience on a vast scale,' said Reform leader Nigel Farage. 'Most of the people outside that hotel in Epping weren't far right or far left,' he said, they 'were just genuinely concerned families'. — AFP
The Sun
a day ago
- The Sun
UK and India sign landmark trade deal boosting economic ties
LONDON: Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Indian counterpart Narendra Modi formalised a major trade deal during talks at Chequers, marking a significant step in UK-India economic relations. The agreement, first announced in May, aims to boost bilateral trade by £25.5 billion while supporting jobs and investment in both countries. Starmer called the deal a 'landmark moment,' emphasising the deep historical and cultural ties between the UK and India. 'We have unique bonds of history, of family and of culture,' he said. 'This agreement is a blueprint for our shared prosperity.' The deal reduces tariffs on key exports, including British whisky and medical devices entering India, while the UK will lower duties on Indian textiles, footwear, and seafood. Government estimates suggest the agreement could add £4.8 billion annually to the UK economy. Modi highlighted the strategic importance of the partnership, stating, 'This is not just about trade but about building a stronger future together.' Both leaders also discussed the recent Air India tragedy, where 241 passengers, including 52 Britons, died in a crash last month. Starmer assured Modi of continued UK support for affected families. Controversies surrounding the repatriation of victims' remains were not directly addressed in official statements. A lawyer representing British families claimed some coffins contained mixed or incorrect remains, though India's foreign ministry maintained that all procedures were handled professionally. The meeting did not publicly address the case of Scottish Sikh blogger Jagtar Singh Johal, detained in India since 2017 without conviction. His family had urged Starmer to raise the issue. Modi's visit included a planned meeting with King Charles III, reinforcing diplomatic ties. This marks his fourth UK trip since taking office in 2014. - AFP
The Star
a day ago
- The Star
China reports record wave of mosquito-borne chikungunya virus
Guangdong province has launched stricter anti-mosquito measures, including urging residents to clear stagnant water. -- PHOTO: UNSPLASH via The Straits Times/ANN BEIJING (Bloomberg): A city in China's southern industrial hub has recorded 3,195 chikungunya cases so far this month, the country's biggest outbreak of the mosquito-borne virus since it first emerged in the mainland nearly two decades ago. Foshan city - in Guangdong Province, just north of Hong Kong - first reported an imported chikungunya case earlier in July, China's national broadcaster CCTV said, citing briefings from local authorities. Infections have soared by more than 2,700 in the past week alone. While Chinese health officials have yet to explain what's behind the outbreak, Guangdong has launched stricter anti-mosquito measures, including urging residents to clear stagnant water and make sure drainage channels remain unobstructed. Chikungunya, first identified in 1952 in Tanzania, is transmitted to humans by infected mosquitoes, the World Health Organization says. The virus causes fever and severe joint pain, and other symptoms can include headaches, muscle pain, vomiting and fatigue. The outbreak in Guangdong, an often hot and humid area of southern China, is the latest sign that tropical diseases - from dengue to malaria and zika - are expanding their reach, as climate change lets mosquitoes live in new territories that have become warmer and wetter. Increased international travel and low population immunity are also helping the spread. An explosion in cases in the Indian Ocean since the start of 2025 has sparked concerns of a spread to other countries, leading the WHO to issue an urgent call to action this week, Reuters reported. France and Italy, thousands of miles from the region, have both found locally-acquired chikungunya cases this year. "The surge in chikungunya cases is likely due to favorable climatic conditions that allow blooms of the Aedes mosquito population,' said Robert Jones, Assistant Professor in the Department of Disease Control at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. "These are aggressive, day-biting mosquitoes that thrive in warm, wet conditions.' More than five billion people live in areas across 119 countries at risk from chikungunya, the WHO told reporters in Geneva, Reuters said. Some 220,000 cases and 80 related deaths have been reported in 14 countries and territories globally so far this year, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. China recorded its first chikungunya case in 2008, an imported infection detected at an airport in Guangdong. The first locally transmitted cases - infecting 253 people - were reported in the province two years later. Since then, only sporadic cases have been found, in Yunnan and Fujian provinces. Globally, population susceptibility is likely elevated in areas where chikungunya outbreaks haven't tended to occur, said Patricia Gallego Delgado, Associate Director at London-based disease forecasting firm Airfinity Ltd. The wave is "attributable to lower levels of population immunity as individuals in these regions may have had limited or no prior exposure to the virus,' she said. -- ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
