Disposable Vape Use Falling In Uk Ahead Of Ban

The fame of disposable e-cigarettes aliases vapes has fallen up of a UK-wide ban connected their waste connected 1 June, a study suggests.

The percent of group aged 16-24 who chiefly usage disposable vapes has dropped by astir half successful nan past twelvemonth from 63% to 35%, University College London (UCL) researchers say.

But researchers judge vape users are switching to refillable and rechargeable vapes successful anticipation of nan prohibition – alternatively of giving up.

As a consequence they pass nan prohibition whitethorn only person a "limited impact" connected vaping rates arsenic it recovered vaping successful wide stalled betwixt January 2024 and 2025 successful each adults complete 16 aft respective years of important growth.

The UK authorities prohibition connected disposable and single-use vapes is aimed astatine stopping littering as, successful astir cases, nan vapes cannot beryllium recycled and often extremity up successful landfill aliases pollute earthy environments.

The prohibition is besides aimed astatine tackling rising rates of younker vaping and protecting children from harm.

GP Dr Helen Wall told BBC Breakfast that NHS proposal is "very clear" that vaping should beryllium utilized arsenic a intends to extremity smoking.

"But for group who person ne'er smoked, and for young group particularly, to move to vaping tin beryllium rather detrimental," she said.

"Our young group are becoming rather addicted. It's affecting their concentration, they're becoming agitated, their capacity to study is affected, their processing encephalon tin beryllium affected."

The UCL study looked astatine study information connected vaping habits successful England, Wales and Scotland some earlier and aft nan prohibition was announced.

The study utilized information from nan Smoking Toolkit Study, which collected information connected 88,611 group aged 16 and over.

Before nan ban, betwixt January 2022 and January 2024, vaping among those aged 16 and complete went up from 8.9% to 13.5%.

In young adults aged 16-24, usage accrued much sharply, from 17% to 26.5%.

After nan prohibition was announced, researchers recovered a diminution successful nan number of vapers chiefly utilizing disposable e-cigarettes - successful each property groups and peculiarly among 16-24 twelvemonth olds.

The study only asked vape users astir their main prime of device.

Dr Sarah Jackson, who useful for nan UCL Tobacco and Alcohol Research Group and is nan lead writer of nan survey, tells nan BBC she thinks "more group are turning to refillable, reusable devices" alternatively than stopping vaping altogether.

"We often spot group alteration their behaviour successful consequence to impending argumentation changes earlier they travel into action," she adds.

Disposable vapes are single-use devices, which travel pre-filled pinch vape liquid, whereas refillable and rechargeable (reusable) devices person a longer shelf-life and are often a cheaper measurement to vape successful nan long-term.

A reusable vape has vape liquid that tin beryllium refilled and a artillery that tin beryllium recharged.

Dr Jackson adds that vape manufacturers person besides been speedy to respond to nan upcoming ban, pinch "the astir popular" disposable brands producing rechargeable versions of their astir celebrated models.

"They're very akin successful design, colours, flavours and moreover price," she says.

While Dr Jackson thinks it's excessively early to show whether nan government's caller strategy will deter young group from vaping, she maintains that wellness legislators look "an rumor of balance".

"We cognize it makes consciousness to do thing to effort and trim nan immense numbers of young group taking up vaping, but nan cardinal nationalist wellness privilege present does stay smoking," she says.

"This is vastly much harmful and is sidesplitting a batch of group each year, truthful we request to make judge that immoderate argumentation measures that are brought successful to tackle younker vaping don't put group disconnected utilizing vapes, which are very effective astatine quitting smoking," she adds.