Disposable vapes will be banned in the UK as part of ambitious government plans to tackle the rise in youth vaping and protect children’s health, the Prime Minister has announced today (29 January 2024) on a visit to a school.

The measure comes as part of the government’s response to its consultation on smoking and vaping, which was launched in October last year.

Disposable vape ban ‘a pro-smoking’ policy

Commenting on the government’s plan to ban disposable vapes and restrict e-cigarette flavours, Christopher Snowdon, Head of Lifestyle Economics at the free market think tank, the Institute of Economic Affairs, said:

“The government is trying to ram through illiberal and counterproductive policies before anyone thinks about them too carefully. The generational ban on tobacco sales will be a farce and will spawn all the problems associated with prohibition. Most of the government’s anti-vaping policies are effectively pro-smoking policies as they will drive vapers back to cigarettes.

“There is clear evidence that e-cigarette flavour bans are associated with an increase in cigarette sales (1). Only last week, a study funded by Cancer Research UK expressed strong reservations about a blanket ban on disposable vapes which are used by 2.6 million Britons (2).

“There is room for sensible regulation of branding that is clearly aimed at minors and a ban on selling nicotine pouches to children is long overdue, but the government is throwing the baby out with the bath water with plain packaging, flavour bans and the prohibition of disposable vapes. The real answer is to enforce the law banning the sale of e-cigarettes to minors which is being flouted up and down the country.”