Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) has announced its support for the government’s plans to tackle the rise in young people vaping with a ban on disposable vapes. The legislation is part of Parliament’s commitment to creating a ‘smokefree generation’.

Deborah Arnott, chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health, said, “Today’s announcements are a vital stepping stone on the path to ending the smoking epidemic once and for all. The government’s strategy is the right one: stop smoking and support smokers to quit by using the most effective methods while protecting children by curbing youth vaping.

“Smoking has caused more deaths than obesity, alcohol, road traffic accidents, illegal drugs and HIV combined, and each year kills more people than covid did at the height of the pandemic. Smoking is the silent killer that hides in plain sight. Ending this scourge on society is long overdue.”

ASH raised the alarm about disposable vapes fuelling a growth in underage vaping after its survey data in 2022 showed an uptick in underage vaping, with disposables the majority choice. This trend has continued, and in 2023 69 per cent of underage vapers said they use disposable vapes.

Disposable vapes are widely available for pocket money prices, attractive and easy to use, and environmentally damaging and tough action is needed. However, there are significant challenges to making a ban work, and there need to be exemptions for use by healthcare professionals with vulnerable smokers.

Bob Blackman CBE MP chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Smoking and Health, said, “The All Party Group on Smoking and Health, which I chair, has repeatedly called on the government to take much tougher action on smoking and vaping and finally the government has listened. The devil will be in the detail, so we will need to scrutinise the legislation that will bring this to fruition when it is laid before parliament in the days to come.”

The measures highlighted in the announcement are:

  • A ban on disposable vapes
  • New powers to restrict vape flavours, introduce plain packaging and change how vapes are displayed in shops so that they don’t appeal to children
  • New law will make it illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone born on or after January 1, 2009

The new law is supported by all the leading health organisations, including the medical royal colleges, health charities and professional associations. A large online survey by YouGov for ASH found that two-thirds (66 per cent) of adults in Great Britain already support the legislation, with only 14 per cent opposed.

Deborah added, “Banning disposables when they are so widely used will require strict enforcement to be effective, as illegal vapes are already flooding the market even before a ban. At the turn of the last century illegal tobacco was out of control, just as illegal vapes are now but the number of illegal cigarettes on sale in the UK fell by 80 per cent between 2000 and 2021 after a comprehensive cross government strategy was implemented.

“It’s excellent news that the government has updated its strategy for tackling illicit tobacco, but we are yet to see the same strategic approach applied to vapes. Throwing money at the problem is not enough, stopping illegal vapes at the Border, inland and at point of sale requires a thought through intelligence-led strategy.”

Ruth Sharrock, clinical lead for tobacco dependency, North East and North Cumbria NHS Integrated Care Board, said, “Removing disposable vapes from our toolkit would make it harder to support our most vulnerable smokers. Older smokers, people with learning disabilities and others can find it hard to use refillable products straight away. The immediacy of a disposable vape makes such a difference. It is as if we are taking a cigarette out of their hand and replacing it with a vastly safer product.”

Deborah said, “The government is taking vital powers to control the design and promotion of e-cigarettes to prevent them being promoted to children. The comic characters, bright colours and sweet names so appealing to children are unacceptable for products that should only be promoted to adults as an aid to quitting smoking.”

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