{"id":24610,"date":"2025-05-28T15:15:09","date_gmt":"2025-05-28T15:15:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/?p=24610"},"modified":"2025-05-28T15:15:14","modified_gmt":"2025-05-28T15:15:14","slug":"vapers-face-600-fines-as-disposable-ban-hits-uk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/post\/vapers-face-600-fines-as-disposable-ban-hits-uk\/","title":{"rendered":"Vapers face \u00a3600 fines as disposable ban hits UK"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Vapers in the UK could be fined hundreds of pounds when new legislation comes in next week.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Saturday June 1, it will be illegal for businesses in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to sell or supply disposable vapes – even non-nicotine versions. All vapes must be refillable, rechargeable, and have replaceable coils.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government has said individuals will face fines of up to \u00a3600 for breaching household waste disposal rules under the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Many people mistakenly believe that vapes can be tossed into their regular bin at home, but they’re actually classed as WEEE, which has strict rules for disposal,\u201d WEEE waste experts warned. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen vapes are disposed of in household bins, this can lead to fires in bin trucks and at waste management sites, posing a huge risk to workers and the public.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The maximum amount those who breach their household waste duty of care could be fined will increase from \u00a3400 to \u00a3600,” the Government website WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, shops caught selling single-use devices could be hit with an even bigger \u00a36,000 fine. Retailers have been slashing prices to shift stock before the deadline, with some disposables going for as little as 29p. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experts warn ban could backfire<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

While ministers insist the crackdown will curb youth vaping and help the environment, health experts and vape advocates warn it could have dangerous unintended consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government\u2019s own impact assessment, by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), revealed that \u201c29 per cent of current [people who vape] will either revert\/relapse to smoking tobacco\u201d as a result of the ban. Officials said \u201cif the ban is increasing use of cigarettes there could be health disbenefits\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A recent poll<\/a> by vape brand Evapo found nearly two thirds (61 per cent) of disposable vape users would consider buying illegal products if readily available after the UK ban.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The survey suggests the legislation could unintentionally push adult vapers back to smoking and discourage smokers from switching to safer alternatives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two thirds (67 per cent) of disposable vape users said the products had helped them stop smoking entirely, while the overwhelming majority (93 per cent) said vaping in general had helped them quit the deadly habit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese findings highlight a very real unintended consequence,\u201d said Andrej Kuttruf, CEO of Evapo. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhilst the intent behind the disposable vape ban and tax increases are understandable, the reality is that a significant number of consumers are signalling they may turn to unregulated, potentially unsafe products or even return to smoking.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lessons from other countries<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Australia, where nicotine vapes are banned outside of pharmacies, has experienced a sharp surge in illicit sales<\/a>, with the devices easily accessible online and in local shops. In the U.S. and Canada, patchwork bans in some states or regions have led to higher sales of illegal and counterfeit vapes<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unregulated vapes are potentially dangerous as they have not been made to comply with industry safety standards. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Addiction specialist Caitlyn Notley said: \u201cThis move risks pushing ex-smokers back to the far more dangerous habit of cigarettes. We must ensure adults still have access to safer alternatives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vape shops and manufacturers have also criticised the ban, calling it a \u201chammer blow\u201d to harm reduction. Vape retailer Totally Wicked said the crackdown risks driving vapers either to cigarettes or black market products, which are unregulated and potentially dangerous.<\/p>\n

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Vapers in the UK could be fined hundreds of pounds when new legislation comes in next week. From Saturday June 1, it will be illegal for businesses in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to sell or supply disposable vapes – even non-nicotine…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":990002,"featured_media":24611,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[257],"tags":[344,338,343,186,345],"slider":[],"class_list":["post-24610","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-australia","tag-canada","tag-ireland","tag-nicotine","tag-wales"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24610","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/990002"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24610"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24610\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24617,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24610\/revisions\/24617"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24611"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24610"},{"taxonomy":"slider","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/slider?post=24610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}