The UK’s disposable vape ban is a ‘disaster’ that will push smokers back to the deadly habit and cause an explosion in the black market, industry experts have warned.
A blanket ban on single-use vapes will come into force across Britain on June 1, 2025, in a bid to stop children and young people from taking up vaping and reduce damage to the environment.
But leading experts in harm reduction say the move will backfire by making it harder for smokers to transition to far less harmful vapes and handing the market over to illegal traders.
The decision ‘will cost lives’
Mark Oates, founder of campaign group We Vape, said: “This decision is going to cost lives because disposable vapes are hugely popular with adults looking to make the switch from smoking.
“It will also have very little impact on children accessing vapes because the devices are already age restricted. What is needed is proper enforcement of the law against traders who are prepared to sell to minors. A vape licencing scheme for vape retailers, as is applied with alcohol, would ensure those selling illegal vapes or caught selling to children can be stripped of their licence.
“Instead, we are going to see an explosion in the black market for unregulated disposable vapes because removing a product does not remove its demand.”
Mr Oates said the UK is ignoring the experience of Australia, where strict vape laws have led to violent turf wars among criminal gangs across the country that law enforcement cannot control.
He added that littering of illegal vapes will still happen and that a more effective way to address the issue would be with a well organised deposit return scheme.
Liam Humberstone, technical director at online vape store Totally Wicked, said the ban will put lives at risk by removing an “easy-to-use, effective alternative to cigarettes.”
Regulation, enforcement and education ‘more effective’
He said: “OHID [the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, formerly Public Health England] has consistently reported that vaping is significantly less harmful than smoking, and disposable vapes have contributed to this positive public health outcome.”
Although the vape industry recognises growing concerns about young people vaping and the environment, he added, regulation and education would be a more effective way to address the issues.
“We strongly believe that proper regulation, enforcement, and education are vital in addressing these concerns and protecting young people from accessing products that are not intended for them,” he said.
“While we understand the reasons behind the ban, it’s crucial to ensure that adult smokers continue to have access to safer alternatives to cigarettes. This ban will affect a proportion of smokers, and many recent ex-smokers, who rely on the convenience of disposable vapes.”
A ‘reckless attack on harm reduction’
Michael Landl, director of the World Vapers’ Alliance, said the ban will hurt those who need help the most - current smokers looking for legal, affordable safer alternatives - and will simply send demand for disposable vapes to the black market.
He said: “Labour’s plan to ban disposable vapes is a reckless attack on harm reduction.. By driving disposable vapes off the shelves, the government is handing the market over to illegal actors.
“It’s shocking that a Labour government, claiming to stand for the working class, is pushing a policy that will hit the poor hardest and make it harder for them to quit smoking.”
Research from University College London (UCL) and King’s College London shows that banning disposable vapes could stall progress in reducing smoking rates in the UK.
It said that as well as hitting young people wanting to vape, the ban would also affect 1.2 million people who currently smoke and a further 744,000 who previously smoked.
The report added that the decision would also have a disproportionate impact on disadvantaged groups that have higher rates of smoking and typically find it harder to quit.
“This policy is not just a step back - it’s a dangerous move that could push current vapers back to smoking or into the black market, undoing years of harm reduction efforts and widening health inequalities,” Mr Landl said.
“The government should be promoting harm reduction, not crushing it under the weight of misguided legislation.”
Marcus Saxton, Chair of the Independent British Vape Trade Association, said the ban will lack teeth as it does not include a ban on imports - only sales of disposable vapes.
He said: “Single-use vapes, importantly, offer a level of convenience in use that has brought a large number of adult consumers from tobacco smoking to a less harmful alternative.
“The illicit trade in single use vapes has been the driver of both increased access by young people, and negative media headlines. We are therefore disappointed that today’s announcement does not include an importation ban.”
He said the move is also likely to fuel public misconception that vaping is as or more harmful than smoking.
He said: “Banning an entire category of vapes is likely to fuel public misperceptions about the relative safety of vaping to smoking. Adults using single-use disposable vapes outnumber those that are under 18 by several times. Consequently there needs to be clear messaging from the government to encourage those adults not to simply revert to smoking.
“There has been some commentary and media attention wrongly accusing producers who develop refillable and rechargeable products of somehow “getting around a loophole in the regulations”. These accusations have no foundation, as post-ban, adult consumers will need as many refillable and rechargeable product options as possible.”
Former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak initially announced plans to ban disposable vapes by January, and Labour did not mention the policy in its election manifesto.
But it has since acted quickly to clamp down on vapes, with a tax rise on them also expected to be announced in the Autumn Budget tomorrow.
