Rhiannon Ingle
The Prime Minister has just confirmed the news that disposable vapes are set to be banned in the UK.
Rishi Sunak has announced the new measures in a bid to crackdown on the rise in vaping amongst young people and children, and has outlined the five steps he's taking to 'protect children'.
The new laws come as part of the government's response to its consultation on smoking and vaping, which was launched back in October 2023, with some pretty shocking figures showing the number of children using vapes has dramatically increased as of recent.
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Sunak discussed the new changes in a statement to LADbible, outlining the five major steps used to 'tackle vaping amongst kids'.
He began: "I'm here with LADbible to give you an important update on our plan to tackle vaping amongst kids."
The PM went on to explain the number of children vaping in the past three years has tripled, adding: "We know that vaping can be useful for smokers to quit, but there's no reason for kids to take it up, especially when we don't know about the long-term health impacts.
"So here's what we're going to do..."
First up on the list was to 'ban disposable vapes', explaining: "These vapes have caused a major spike in youth vaping. The proportion of 11 to 17 year old vapours using disposables, has increased almost nine times in the past few years."
He continued: "Second, we'll crack down on marketing with new powers to restrict flavours, and introduce plain packaging to make vapes less appealing to kids.
"Third, we'll make sure vapes can't be displayed in shops in ways which appeal specifically to children.
"Fourth, we'll stop children getting hold of vaping alternatives. There's no point in children stopping vaping if they can still access products like nicotine pouches, so we'll ban their sale to children too.
"And lastly, five, will introduce new fines for shops who sell vapes illegally to children. Nobody wants to see their child smoking or vaping."
Such penalties will build on a maximum £2,500 fine that local authorities can currently already impose.
Sunak concluded: "These plans alongside our commitment to create the first smoke free generation will help protect the health of our children for the future."
Commenting on the ban, health minister Andrea Leadsom said: "We are in the midst of a worrying rise in young people vaping. I want to stop youth vaping in its tracks – and a ban on disposable vapes is central to that.
"Nicotine is highly addictive – and so it is completely unacceptable that children are getting their hands on these products, many of which are undeniably designed to appeal to young people.
"Along with tougher enforcement measures, we are making sure vapes are aimed at the people they were designed to help – adults who are quitting smoking."