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Local councils in England and Wales are urging the British government to ban the sale of disposable vapes by 2024. The reason is basing on environmental and health problem.
The Local Government Association of England and Wales (LGA), which represents local councils in England and Wales, said it was vital the ban came into force quickly.
Actually, the European Union plans to ban disposable vape pens in 2026, and France will implement a ban in December this year. Therefore, there is a risk of an influx of disposable vapes into the UK leading by this market shutdown period.
The LGA emphasizes that people throw away 1.3 million disposable vape pens every week. These used disposable vapes pose a threat to waste and rubbish collection and have caused fires in rubbish trucks.
What’s more, disposable vapes are designed in one piece, thus the battery are not separable from the plastic. Therefore, they are almost impossible to recycle without special treatment.
England and Wales Councils Call for Ban on Disposable Vapes by 2024
The local councils also concerns about the impact of vaping on children and adolescents.
David Fothergill, Chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board, said that,
“Disposable vapes are fundamentally flawed in their design and inherently unsustainable products, meaning an outright ban will prove more effective than attempts to recycle more vapes,”
The UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) defend disposable vapes.
The UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) is the #1 trade association for the vaping sector supporting, developing and promoting the £1bn vaping industry. It is the UK’s largest growing consumer goods sector.
According to UKVIA’s response, smoking kills more than 200 UK smokers every day affecting families and loved ones across the country. Most smokers have used, and continue to use, disposable vapes to help them quit combustible cigarettes.
In addition, the low price, accessibility and easy use of disposable vapes play key role in helping bring the UK smoking rate to an all-time low.
Moreover, a recent report from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) also shows advantages of disposable vapes. The report concluds that converting smokers to vapers help the NHS save more than £320 million in a single year.
The association’s director-general, John Dunne, told BBC Radio on Saturday,
“Disposables have been around for well over a decade and provide a low priced accessible product that helps smokers to quit smoking tobacco,”
He says the vaping industry is continuously working hard to reduce its environmental impact. And he warns that the ban could lead to more illegal products entering the UK.
