Zuko Komisa
The UK Government has announced that disposable vapes are being banned as an increasing number of young people grow addicted to sweet-flavored e-cigarettes.
This move also tries to address the growing issue of plastic trash, with five million vapes wasted per week last year—four times the number expected by 2022, according to The Sun.
New legislation will oblige vendors in England to discontinue all disposable vape devices by June 1, 2025.
“Banning these vapes will stop them from being thrown into bins with general waste, where they typically end up in landfill or being incinerated, posing a fire risk due to their lithium-ion batteries and can cause poor air quality. Furthermore, it will stop plastic, lead, and mercury from leaching into the environment, which can cause waterways to be contaminated and poison our wildlife.
The Government has laid legislation to introduce the ban and, subject to parliamentary approval, businesses will have until 1 June 2025 to sell any remaining stock they hold and prepare for the ban coming into force.” said the UK Government
The government anticipates that Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland will all discontinue all disposable vape devices by June 1, 2025.
Vape usage in England grew by more than 400% between 2012 and 2023
According to the UK Government, vape usage in England grew by more than 400% between 2012 and 2023, with 9.1% of the British public now buying and using these products.
READ NEXT: Two first-year IT students call for system reboot after exposing SASSA payment system weaknesses
