On Monday (January 29), the United Kingdom is expected to unveil measures to ban the sale of disposable vapes in an effort to reduce youth vaping. The measures will also include making vaping less enticing to minors by limiting vape flavors.
The UK government’s plan
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government has tried to impose a nationwide ban on vapes due to the health risks they represent. This comes after his administration stated that it intends to establish legislation prohibiting younger generations from purchasing tobacco.
“Alongside our commitment to stop children who turn 15 this year or younger from ever legally being sold cigarettes, these changes will leave a lasting legacy by protecting our children’s health for the long term,” said Sunak, in a statement.
The restrictions will also include limiting the use of sweet and fruity flavors to target juvenile sales, as well as requiring plain packaging for vapes or e-cigarettes to change how they are exhibited in stores.
“As any parent or teacher knows, one of the most worrying trends at the moment is the rise in vaping among children, and so we must act before it becomes endemic,” said the UK PM.
Sunak is anticipated to go over these measures in detail during his visit to a school on Monday.
The new decision is also part of a broader response to a public consultation on smoking and vaping, which prompted the UK government to adopt some of the world’s harshest anti-smoking policies.
Sunak’s government unveiled a plan last year to prohibit the sale of cigarettes to everyone born on or after January 1, 2009, to establish a “smoke-free generation”.
According to The Guardian, the latest steps to make vaping less enticing to children are anticipated to take effect at the end of this year or early in 2025.
Notably, it is already illegal in the UK to sell any vape to anybody under the age of 18, but the government claims disposable vapes are a “key driver behind the alarming rise in youth vaping”.
Health concerns
According to the government, smoking is the leading preventable cause of cancer-related fatalities in the UK, accounting for one out of every four, or approximately 80,000 deaths per year.
According to recent data, the number of minors using vapes in the UK has increased dramatically, with 9% of 11 to 15-year-olds now doing so. In the previous three years, the number has roughly tripled.
Furthermore, the number of 11 to 17-year-olds who use disposable vapes has nearly tripled in the last two years or so.
Meanwhile, the UK Vaping Industry Association claims that vapes carry substantially fewer health risks than tobacco and that tastes were essential in convincing smokers to convert.
Doctors are concerned about the unknown long-term health repercussions of vaping on young kids and their growing respiratory systems, as well as nicotine addiction.
The government states that, in addition to the health benefits, the ban on disposable vapes would also reduce the massive impact it has on the environment since five million vapes are thrown away each week.
