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Disposable vapes to be
banned over concerns of
sharp increase in children's
use
It will also become illegal for anyone born
after January 1 2009 to buy tobacco under
the prime minister's plan to create a smoke-
free generation.

Monday 29 January 2024 01:03, UK

Why you can trust Sky News

Rishi Sunak has announced plans to ban

disposable vapes in a bid to crack down on their
use among children.

The prime minister is also set to unveil new powers

to restrict vape flavours as a means to make them
less appealing to children.

The Scotland and Wales governments will also ban

single-use vapes.

The proposed ban, which will form part of

legislation that has to be approved by parliament,
comes amid concern at the rise of vaping among
children, with teachers reporting pupils showing
signs of nicotine dependency in the classroom.

The prime minister will also make it illegal to sell

tobacco products to anyone born on or after 1
January 2009 as part of his pledge to create a
smoke-free generation, while vaping alternatives
such as nicotine pouches will also be outlawed.

2:26

Pupils 'can't last a lesson' without a vape

Announcing the move ahead of a visit to a school

on Monday, Mr Sunak said: "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.

"The long-term impacts of vaping are unknown

and the nicotine within them can be highly
addictive, so while vaping can be a useful tool to
help smokers quit, marketing vapes to children is
not acceptable.

"That is why I am taking bold action to ban

disposable vapes - which have driven the rise in
youth vaping - and bring forward new powers to
restrict vape flavours, introduce plain packaging
and change how vapes are displayed in shops.

"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."

Smoking remains the UK's single biggest

preventable killer, causing around one in four
cancer deaths and leading to 80,000 deaths per
year, while the health effects of vaping remain
unknown.

WILL THE SMOKING BAN BE SUBJECT TO A

'NANNY STATE' BACKLASH?
Tamara Cohen
Political correspondent
@tamcohen

As smoking has been increasingly curtailed

in public, it's easy to forget that it's still one
of the leading causes of death and illness in
the UK.

It kills around half of those who smoke,

making it the biggest one that's entirely
preventable. The habit kills 76,000 people a
year, according to the NHS.

From a public health perspective, Rishi

Sunak's plans are being hailed as a game-
changer, and the vaping ban will reassure
the message boards full of worried parents
of teenagers.

But there's still something about the ban

on cigarettes altogether, that sits uneasily,
particularly with politicians on the right.

Read analysis in full here

The new measures follow a government

consultation into smoking and vaping which was
launched last year, in which nearly 70% of parents,
teachers, healthcare professionals and the general
public indicated their support for further
restrictions.

Enforcement agencies, including Border Force and

HMRC, are in line to receive £30m in new funding a
year to enforce the measures.

The government will also bring in new fines for

shops in England and Wales that sell vapes illegally
to children, in addition to the maximum £2,500
fine that local councils can already impose.

Further restrictions on vaping have been touted

after recent figures show the number of children
using vapes in the past three years has tripled.

Under its plans, the government is expected to

use the Environmental Protection Act to ban
disposable vapes and hopes to achieve its aim by
the end of 2025 at the latest.

1:19

How does vaping affect long-term health?

The move has been welcomed by health and

environmental campaigners. It is estimated that
five million disposable vapes are thrown away each
week - up from 1.3 million last year.

Dame Rachel de Souza, the Children's

Commissioner for England, said parents would be
"extremely relieved" at the proposals.

"When I asked children a couple of years ago about

all aspects of their health and wellbeing, I was
shocked and concerned to hear from children as
young as 12 who told me that vaping was
normalised among their peers - even on school
premises," she said.

"This announcement will help tackle that issue and

I know that many children and parents will be
extremely relieved."

YOUR E-CIGARETTE HEALTH QUESTIONS

ANSWERED
How safe are e-cigarettes? Vaping is not
completely risk-free, but it poses a small
fraction of the risk of smoking cigarettes.
The long-term risks of vaping are not yet
clear. E-cigarettes do not produce tar or
carbon monoxide, two of the most harmful
elements in tobacco smoke. The liquid and
vapour contain some potentially harmful
chemicals also found in cigarette smoke,
but at a much lower level

What about risks from nicotine? While

nicotine is the addictive substance in
cigarettes, most of the harm from smoking
comes from the thousands of other
chemicals in tobacco smoke, many of which
are toxic. Nicotine replacement therapy
(NRT) has been widely used for many years
to help people stop smoking and is a safe
treatment.

Are e-cigarettes safe to use in pregnancy?

Little research has been conducted into the
safety of e-cigarettes and e-liquids in
pregnancy. It is not known whether the
vapour is harmful to a baby in pregnancy. If
you're pregnant, licensed NRT products
such as patches and gum are the
recommended option to help you stop
smoking. But if you find using an e-cigarette
helpful for quitting and staying smoke-free,
it's much safer for you and your baby than
continuing to smoke. Source: nhs.uk

And Libby Peake, head of resource policy at the

Green Alliance, said: "This ban can't come soon
enough, not only for the health of future
generations, but also for the health of the planet.

"This bold move by the government is nothing but

good news."

Around 9% of 11 to 15-year-olds are now using

vapes and teachers have expressed concern that
children are struggling to concentrate in lessons
without them.

Read more:
Children 'so addicted to vapes they can't last
lesson without one'
How would a smoking ban work?

However, former prime minister Liz Truss said Mr

Sunak should "reverse" the ban.

"While the state has a duty to protect children

from harm, in a free society, adults must be able to
make their own choices about their own lives," she
said.

"Banning the sale of tobacco products to anyone

born in 2009 or later will create an absurd
situation where adults enjoy different rights
based on their birthdate.

"A Conservative government should not be

seeking to extend the nanny state."

Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, said:

"What has taken the government so long? Labour
put forward measures to tackle vapes being aimed
at children more than two years ago, but these
were blocked by the Conservatives.

"In the meantime, the numbers of young people

vaping have soared."

Related Topics

Rishi Sunak Vaping

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