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Daily Record
a day ago
- Daily Record
UK holidaymakers warned of disposable vape crackdowns in popular tourists hotspots
The sale of the single-use e-cigs was banned across the country last month. With Scotland's disposable vape ban now in full effect, users heading on holiday this summer are being urged to double-check the laws in their holiday destination. Dozens of countries now prohibit the use, sale, or import of disposable vaping devices and in some cases, possession alone could lead to fines. From June 1, the sale of the single-use e-cigs was banned across the country in a bid to prevent young children from taking up the habit as well as to protect the environment. However, purchasing a disposable vape abroad and bringing it back into the UK could also catch vapers out. Travellers returning home could risk confiscation at UK borders or unknowingly breach the law by possessing a banned product. Saif Khan, director at online retailer WizVape said: 'With the UK's ban on disposable vapes now in place, we're seeing similar restrictions emerging across Europe and globally. "Many travellers are unaware that simply carrying a disposable vape could result in confiscation, hefty fines, or even legal trouble abroad. "Whether you're heading to the beach or the city this summer, it's essential to check the local laws before you fly. Make sure you're using a reusable device and have packed enough refills so you don't need to purchase a non-uk friendly vape for your return.' European countries with disposable vape bans or restrictions If you're travelling to France or Belgium, you might not even notice the difference. Both countries have implemented laws closely aligned with the UK's, meaning you won't find disposables for sale. European countries where disposable vapes are currently available Disposable vapes are still legally available in many countries, yet travellers should not be tempted to bring any home, as it is possible that tourists may return unaware they're carrying a product now illegal in the UK. While disposables are available in other countries, there are restrictions and upcoming proposals to align legislation with the UK's, France and Belgium's bans. Germany – The majority of the Bundesrat (Germany's Federal Council) has voted in favour of a ban on disposable vapes, though this still needs to be debated and approved Ireland – A disposable vape ban is expected by the end of 2025, with the Cabinet having approved the first draft of the upcoming Public Health (Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill last year Hungary – Only state-run Tobacco Shops may sell vaping products. Additionally, there is a total ban on all e-liquid flavours. The government has specifically banned popular disposable vape devices (e.g., 'Elf Bars') making their possession, sale, or use illegal. Where You Shouldn't Vape While disposable vapes are still legal in Spain, regional laws vary. However, using a vaping device in the wrong location could result in a fine. Many coastal areas have implemented vape-free zones. Spain – Beaches in Benidorm (Levante and Poniente) and Barcelona are designated vape-free with fines up to €750 (£650) In several countries outside of Europe, all vaping devices are fully banned. Tourists bringing these items could face confiscation, fines, or criminal charges: Thailand – A total ban on the possession, sale, and use of all e-cigarettes and vaping devices has been in effect since 2014, with severe penalties including fines and potential jail time Singapore – There is a complete ban on the importation, sale, distribution, possession, use, and purchase of all e-cigarettes and vapes. Penalties for possession or use can include fines of up to £1,150, while importing can lead to fines of up to £5,750 or imprisonment. Mexico – A nationwide ban on the sale, distribution, import, export, and marketing of all vaping devices was signed into law in 2022 by presidential decree, following earlier regulatory actions. Personal use is a legal grey area but there have been reports of devices being confiscated at airports Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. India – A nationwide ban on the production, import, export, transport, sale, distribution, storage, and advertisement of electronic cigarettes came into effect with the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act, 2019, on December 5, 2019 Qatar – a ban on the manufacture, sale, distribution, use of vapes was implemented in 2014. Strict enforcement can lead to fines up to £2,200 or up to three months in prison for possession. Brazil – all vaping devices have been banned since 2009 by the National Health Surveillance Agency Argentina – The import, sale, advertisement, and distribution of e-cigarettes and related products have been banned since a 2011 government ruling, with a subsequent decree in 2013 classifying e-cigarettes as tobacco products, extending usage prohibitions to them
Spectator
2 days ago
- Politics
- Spectator
Banning disposable vapes was a waste of time
When we're debating the introduction of a new law – ban this, ban that, crack down on the other – most of the energy in the public conversation goes into the question of whether this, that, or the other is something that deserves to be cracked down on. It seems to be after the event, usually, and with the sound and fury at last subsided, that we discover whether the law in question will achieve its stated purpose. A corker of a recent example, I think, was the Blair government's foxhunting ban. It sucked in hundreds of hours of parliamentary time. It generated thousands of headlines. It brought hundreds of thousands of people out on the streets. And finally, this totemic piece of legislation passed – which according to your way of looking at things either sought to bring a barbaric and trivial era of our national history to a close, or sought to destroy part of the English way of life out of class-based spite. The main result was a giant uptick in the number of people in fancy dress taking their dogs for a walk on horseback. Another, I suspect, may turn out to be Sir Keir Starmer's one-in-one-out 'crackdown' on small boat migrants. It seems very odd that – by insisting that every new migrant we kick out will be replaced by another we consider more deserving – we essentially tether our migration statistics fastidiously and by law to the success of the smuggling gangs who run the small boats. There may be a shuffle of personnel, but in bums-on-seats terms, we're accepting exactly as many people as make landfall in a dinghy in any given year. But the one I zero in on here seems to me a wonderful little parable of the time and energy wasted when a law hasn't been properly thought through. Disposable vapes. Remember them? There was a moment when we could talk of little else. We all agreed, apparently, that they were a Bad Thing, on the grounds that a) it wasn't exactly environmentally friendly to have zillions of these plastic things chucked into landfill every year, along with all the nasty chemicals in their batteries and b) they were considered to be a big contributor to the rise in vaping among young people. The most prominent of all these vapes were probably Elf Bars, a marketing success story like no other. Their manufacturers indignantly deny the suggestion that they deliberately marketed their products to kiddies, but we can say with some confidence that kiddies liked them. Could it be the cheerful, CBeebies style colour schemes? Or is it the Haribo-adjacent flavours – things like Blueberry Sour Raspberry, Kiwi Passionfruit Guava and Blue Razz Lemonade? Either way, they became a rising star of the random-bag-search confiscation scene in secondary schools up and down the country. And so, duly, Rishi Sunak set in motion a ban that came into force a month or two ago. How's it working out? I only ask because though Elf Bars and their like may be popular with the kids, decrepit late-middle-agers like me have also been known to pick them up when they are caught short by the battery on their reusables giving up the ghost. (The cost of this is indignity: I have not seldom – being too short-sighted to read the flavours on the display behind the newsagent's counter – plumped for a pretty yellow one, imagining it would be lemony and refreshing, only to find myself choffing away on a vile synthetic banana confection.) Had reusable vapes doubled or tripled in price, consumer behaviour might have changed Your basic disposable vape, in case any readers are unfamiliar with them, is an all-in-one plastic doohickey with an integral one-use battery, and a tank of some fruity-flavoured and wickedly nicotinous juice inside which the battery vapourises for your pretend-smoking pleasure. They cost five or six quid a pop – or anything up to a tenner if you buy one from the robdogs in those central London kiosks. Now, though, they are 100 per cent illegal. So the other day, caught vapeless as described above, I tried to buy one in the offy. Elf Bar, despite the mighty smiting of Sunak and the combined will of both Houses, has very much not gone out of business. Instead, they are now selling reusable vapes. These new, absolutely-definitely-not-disposable vapes are exactly the same flavour, colour, shape and size of the wicked, needing-to-be-banned old sort. They are sold in the same packaging. They cost the same. The difference is that they've bunged in a USB port so you can now, at least in theory, recharge their crappy little batteries. And if you tug at the mouthpiece, you can lift the tank of fluid out and, at least in theory, replace it with spares that are available separately. Their many competitors – Lost Mary, Blu and all the rest – have done exactly the same thing. A tiny tweak to the production line (insert charging port; solder a couple of contacts onto the juice tank so it's removable) has made no significant difference to the product. No doubt the manufacturers will have pretty good statistics on how many of their customers now reuse their products rather than, say, tossing them in the bin when they're done just like they did with their predecessors. I can't claim to know, but I have a hunch. Had these reusable vapes, with their new specs, doubled or tripled in price, we might have been more confident in their effect on consumer behaviour – but, oddly, they didn't. And, for what it's worth, if the main desideratum was to reduce youth vaping, the current status quo probably does the opposite. It makes it just a bit cheaper for the thrifty teenage vape-fiend. If you can be bothered to recharge the battery with a USB cable (not included) you get two replacement juice-tanks for the same price as the original vape; which may be marginally better for the environment but it's also marginally easier on the old pocket money. And for this – at very best a no-score-draw in overall terms – we spent parliamentary time, political will, and acres of anguished, well-meaning news stories. Not to mention creating a logistical pain in the behind for newsagents and supermarkets up and down the country and inconveniencing to no especially obvious end the businesses that manufacture these things. Was this in any way foreseeable? As long ago as January 2024, the then health secretary Victoria Atkins promised: 'we will listen very carefully to suggestions that big tobacco and other vaping companies will somehow find a way around this'. To the suggestion that vaping companies might simply bung a USB port into an essentially disposable product, she said: 'That's incredibly cynical and it shows, if you like, the battle that the government is prepared to take on.' And yet, astoundingly, here we are. Mine's a Banana Ice.
Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Daily Mirror
Urgent warning for Brits abroad who vape as tourist hotspots impose strict bans
Brits are being warned to check local laws in their holiday destinations before setting off as multiple countries impose strict vape bans that could result in a hefty fine or even prison time As summer holiday season kicks off, British travellers are being urged to double-check vaping laws at their holiday destinations or risk hefty fines, confiscation, or even prison. While most holidaymakers remember to pack suncream, passports and sunglasses, one everyday item could land you in trouble abroad: your vape. UK-based retailer WizVape has issued a warning for travellers this summer after the UK's own ban on disposable vapes came into effect on June 1, 2025. With similar restrictions now appearing across Europe and beyond, vape users could easily be caught out by local laws. 'Many travellers are unaware that simply carrying a disposable vape could result in confiscation, hefty fines, or even legal trouble abroad,' says Saif Khan, Director at WizVape. 'Whether you're heading to the beach or the city this summer, it's essential to check the local laws before you fly.' In Europe, countries such as France and Belgium have already implemented full bans on disposable vapes. In Spain, vaping may still be legal, but using your device on beaches in Barcelona or Benidorm could see you slapped with a fine of up to €750 (£650). Other European nations are planning restrictions too. A disposable vape ban in Germany has passed the Bundesrat but awaits parliamentary approval. Ireland are also expected to implement a ban by the end of 2025. In Hungary, flavoured e-liquids and popular devices like Elf Bars are already prohibited. 'Make sure you're using a reusable device and have packed enough refills so you don't need to purchase a non-UK friendly vape for your return,' adds Khan. Outside Europe, the risks are even higher. In Thailand, tourists face severe penalties for possession of any vaping device - including large fines or even jail time. Other destinations with complete bans include: Singapore - fines of up to £1,150 for possession. Mexico - devices often confiscated at airports. India, Qatar, Brazil and Argentina - strict bans and penalties in place. Travellers returning to the UK should also be cautious about bringing disposables home. With the UK's ban now in place, anyone caught with a single-use vape could have it confiscated at the border. 'Don't assume what's legal abroad is legal at home,' Khan warns. 'Stay informed and travel smart this summer.'
WebMD
07-06-2025
- Health
- WebMD
The Next-Gen Sweetener You May Be Eating
June 6, 2025 – It's time to add the word "neotame" to your ingredient label watch list, especially if you vape. It's a relatively new artificial sweetener found in every disposable e-cigarette that researchers tested – and the ultra-sweet substance is increasingly being used in food and drink. You probably have heard of aspartame. But neotame is its lesser-known sibling, with just one molecular difference. It showed up in laboratory tests of 11 top disposable e-cigarette brands when researchers from Duke and Yale Universities were trying to figure out what makes the vapes, like Elf and Geek Bars, so, so sweet. Neotame is between 7,000 and 13,000 times sweeter than table sugar and up to 65 times sweeter than aspartame. The sweetened e-cig study results were published this week in The Journal of the American Medical Association, or JAMA. Neotame wasn't found in JUUL or other cartridge-based devices, which have their own checkered ingredient history, including the 2019 finding that the sucralose used in them was linked to the production of toxic aerosols. Even if you don't vape, you may already be consuming neotame, since it's found in baked goods, candy (Mentos, for example), and gum – plus salad dressing, fruit spreads, dairy desserts, and yogurt. It's also used in some flavored sparkling waters and drinks like Tampico Mango Punch. Some researchers have soured on neotame because its use makes e-cigs appealing to young people, and because lab tests show it may harm our intestines when ingested. Why You've Never Heard of Neotame Maybe you saw it on an ingredient label and passed over it sometime in the past two decades. It has zero calories, no nutritional value, and was FDA-approved as a food additive in 2002. It's not listed on disposable e-cigarette packaging. Researchers track these sweeteners. Havovi Chichger, PhD, a professor at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, England, says that for more than four decades, we have been consuming "traditional" artificial sweeteners like acesulfame potassium (Ace-K), sucralose, saccharin, and aspartame. But newer substances like neotame "herald the next generation of sweet additives," she said. The substance was developed in the 1990s in a quest for a more stable sweetener for processed products, and its use has steadily grown, she said. It's even used now in some lip cosmetics that have a sweet flavor and aroma. Neotame has also become the 21st-century spoonful of sugar Mary Poppins sang about: It's used to make some pharmaceuticals more palatable. According to a website about neotame set up by Georgia-based maker NutraSweet Co., neotame has an "ability to mask the taste of supplements, vitamins, bitter food ingredients and active pharmaceuticals. Moreover, its high sweetness intensity allows formulation at very small quantities, leaving ample room for your pharmaceutical ingredients." Neotame is not, however, approved for use in products that are inhaled. Why Neotame Is Used in E-Cigarettes – and in Baked Goods The liquid vaporized by e-cigarettes is heated sometimes as hot as 800 degrees Fahrenheit, said Sven Jordt, PhD, senior author of the JAMA study and a Duke University professor who is an expert in chemical sensory biology. Heating vape liquid can chemically change its ingredients, and neotame's strong sweetness and heat stability seem to have led to its new use in vapes, he said. If a lot of a sweetener is burned up or chemically changed when heated, the desired taste profile can still be achieved if just a bit of the ultra-sweetness remains. "The FDA also has determined that neotame can be used for baking, for example, because it's more heat stable than many of the other sweeteners," Jordt said. "Sweeteners like aspartame or Ace K, they are basically burned at normal baking temperatures. However, with neotame, a large proportion survives baking and likely also survives being vaporized by e-cigarettes." His team is concerned that the sweetness makes the products particularly attractive to kids. It's not used in the few e-cigarettes that are legal to sell in the U.S. and was just found in the disposable ones that are illegal but widely available amid lack of enforcement. "We did this study specifically because this category of disposable e-cigarettes is seeing an explosive growth in sales and use," Jordt said, noting that their nicotine concentration is higher than in older products, and at a fraction of the price. "You buy this once and then you can use it a whole week. And kids are puffing on these all the time," he said. "Some have like 15,000 or 20,000 puffs [compared to a few hundred puffs in the older JUUL devices]. So if you use this continuously, you become really heavily addicted to nicotine … and now we are asking: Is it just the design or is there something else in it that makes them much more attractive to kids to use and make them taste better? And then we found this neotame." The Damage Neotame Can Cause Approval of neotame for use in food products was based on studies on mice and other animals that didn't show any adverse physical effects. But what about the effects on humans? Findings published last year suggest that neotame can damage the human intestine. "Neotame can cause previously healthy gut bacteria to become diseased and invade the gut wall – potentially leading to health issues including irritable bowel syndrome and sepsis – and also cause a breakdown of the epithelial barrier, which forms part of the gut wall," said Chichger, who is a cell and molecular biologist and senior author of the study, which was published in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition. The study showed that neotame can damage the "intestinal epithelium," or lining, by causing the death of epithelial cells. It also damages bacteria commonly found in the gut, she added. "Despite the smaller quantities used, the impact of neotame on the epithelium-microbiota relationship has the potential to cause poor gut health, which in turn could lead to metabolic and inflammatory diseases." The findings were the latest in a line of studies showing the effects of artificial sweeteners on gut health. Another recent study led by Los Angeles-based endocrinologist Ruchi Mathur, MD, linked artificial sweeteners to changes in the microbial composition and diversity in stool and the small intestine. That research, which was published in the journal Cell, didn't include neotame. Changes observed in the gut microbiome's biochemical activity "raise concerns regarding the potential impacts of non-sugar sweeteners on metabolic and gastrointestinal health," said Mathur, who is director of the Diabetes Outpatient Teaching Education Center and a professor of medicine at Cedars-Sinai in California. All the experts interviewed for this article said that while there's not enough data to say for sure that inhaling neotame is bad for you, the existing research suggests reasons to be cautious. When you vape, some of the "smoke" can mix with saliva and get swallowed – so neotame could reach your gut, Chichger said. "In fact, there are other studies which show that e-cigarette fluid can cause the same level of damage that we noted from neotame." Unanswered Questions About Neotame Big questions about neotame: How does it affect the lungs? How can we keep track of how much we've consumed (eating, drinking, or inhaling)? And how much is too much? "These sweeteners are only approved for use in food, but not for inhalation," Jordt said. "We don't know how safe they are if you inhale them every day." Mathur noted that the lungs have their own microbiome, and past studies have shown that vaping alters saliva as well as the nasal cavity microbiome. A large study published in March showed a significant link between exclusive e-cigarette use and development of COPD. The FDA has set daily intake limits for neotame, which is sometimes referred to by the brand name Newtame, and other sweeteners. But experts say there is no labeling requirement that shows consumers how much is included in a product, whether it's food, drink, or vape liquid. Jordt said it's unlikely someone would reach that limit by vaping alone. But if you also eat products with the sweetener, then exceeding that limit becomes more likely. "I do think it is reasonable to assume that there should be consumer awareness and caution, as there is little if any data on what happens when this substance is inhaled," Mathur said. You should also be aware of artificial sweeteners in food and drink, Mathur said. Make a plan with your doctor, especially if eating artificially sweetened foods is part of how you manage your body weight or diabetes. "There is enough data to suggest it is safe to use these non-sugar sweeteners in moderation," Mathur said. "If someone uses artificial sweeteners in non-traditional ways, such as inhaling it through an e-cigarette, they are doing so without the benefit of any good information on the potential long-term consequences of taking in the substance through their airways and down into their lungs or what byproducts may be created in the process."
Daily Mail
01-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Vape ban explained: All your questions answered as single-use disposable e-cigarettes become illegal today
Disposable vapes will banned across the UK on Sunday in a government crackdown on e-cigarettes. From June 1, it will be illegal for businesses to sell or supply single-use vapes, such as Elf bars and Lost Mary, in shops and online. Only devices considered reusable - with a rechargeable battery and replaceable coil - will be allowed. The law is aimed at protecting the environment and tackling a surge in youth vaping rates, which have soared from 0.8 per cent in 2013 to 7.2 per cent last year. Disposable vapes, known for their variety of flavours and brightly coloured packaging, have become increasingly popular among teenagers. Moreover, an estimated 5million single use vapes, which are available to buy at pocket money prices, are thrown away in the UK every week. How is the law changing? The new law which comes into effect on Sunday will ban businesses from selling or supplying disposable vapes. Retailers in England who are caught breaking the law face a minimum £200 penalty or a two-year-prison sentence for repeat offenders. Any single-use e-cigarettes that are found on sale, will be seized by Trading Standards. Rechargeable vapes that are refillable and have a battery and replaceable coil will remain on the market. It will not be illegal to own or be in possession of a single-use vape - with reports that millions of Brits have stockpiled the devices in preparation for the ban. MailOnline revealed this month that nearly 40 per cent of vapers have enough disposable e-cigarettes to last three months. All ages showed interest in stockpiling but it was 45-54-year-olds who led the way, with almost 90 per cent saying they were putting together a collection in preparation. Will vapes be taxed more? Vapes are not currently subject to an additional tax like tobacco products, although 20 per cent VAT is charged. However, a new vaping duty is being introduced by the government on October 1 next year. It will be charged at a flat rate of £2.20 per 10ml vaping liquid. Vape advertising is also set to be banned as part of the government's Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which is currently making its way through parliament. How many young people vape in the UK? Rishi Sunak initially announced the plans to ban disposable vapes in January last year. The former prime minister was acting on evidence that those taking on the habit across all age groups had ballooned by more than 400 per cent since 2012. Moreover, recent NHS figures showed a quarter of 11 to 15-year-olds in England have tried vaping, with almost one in 10 using e-cigarettes regularly. And the highest rates of disposable vape use are among those aged 18 to 24, a survey of 4,393 British adults previously revealed. Disposable vapes, such as Elf bars and Lost Mary, are known for their brightly coloured packaging and wide variety of sweet flavours. The British Medical Association previously warned that flavours such as bubblegum and candy floss could lead to nicotine addictions among children. Why are single-use vapes so bad for the environment? A key reason for the introduction of the ban on disposable vapes is to protect the environment. An estimated 5 million single use vapes, which are available to buy at pocket money prices, are thrown away in the UK every week, according to government figures. Disposable vapes contain lithium-ion batteries and circuit boards which can leak toxic chemicals such as cobalt and copper into the environment. The devices should never be put in regular bins and should be put in dedicated bins so they can be disposed of correctly. MailOnline previously reported that only 17 per cent of people correctly recycle their vapes in a shop or local recycling centre. How are vapes harmful for your health? The NHS has historically recommended vapes to help people quit smoking, which is one of the biggest causes of illness and death in the UK. Around 76,000 people die every year from smoking-related health problems, including heart disease, strokes and cancer. E-cigarettes are far less harmful and can help people quit smoking for good, according to the health service. However, vaping is not risk free. E-cigarettes contain harmful toxins and their long-term effects remains a mystery. Some doctors fear a wave of lung disease and even cancer in the coming decades due to vaping. Experts are also concerned the high nicotine content might increase blood pressure and cause other heart problems. Freedom of Information requests revealed that 24 children in England were hospitalised due to vaping since the start of 2022. These could include lung damage or a worsening of asthma symptoms. Could the ban push vapers back to smoking? A report previously warned that the disposable vapes ban could push 200,000 people back to smoking when it comes into effect. Future Health Research Centre said the move risks undermining progress towards a 'smokefree' Britain if vapers are not supported to maintain their 'quit journey'. Modelling scenarios based on its findings indicate the disposable vapes ban will see between 175,000 and 378,000 people stopping vaping, and between 630,000 and 1.36 million people switching to another vaping product. But the smoking rate could increase by between 90,000 and 200,000, adding 0.2 per cent to 0.4 per cent to the overall population smoking rate. Richard Sloggett, the report's author and a former government advisor, said: 'The Government has committed welcome and strong action to reduce smoking and tackle youth vaping. 'However these findings show that urgent work is needed to ensure that efforts to reduce youth vaping do not have the unintended consequence of increasing the numbers smoking – particularly amongst younger people. 'The ban also feels like being a missed opportunity, with hundreds of thousands of people soon to be looking for alternatives to disposable vapes but over half saying they will simply switch to another product. 'With the ban looming, the Government now needs to get on the front foot, commit to a national mass media anti-smoking campaign and set out more clearly how it will use its forthcoming regulatory powers through the Tobacco and Vapes Bill to help ensure that those using disposable vapes do not turn to smoking instead.'
