Saturday, July 15, 2023

Disposable Vapes: Councils Call for Total Ban by 2024

BBC: Disposable vapes cause litter problems, are a fire hazard and appeal too strongly to children, according to local councils in England and Wales.

The Local Government Association says 1.3m vapes are thrown away each week and wants them banned by 2024.

Single use varieties have surged in popularity, driven by Chinese brands such as Elfbar and Lost Mary.

The UK Vaping Industry Association says they help smokers quit and can be recycled.

Disposable vapes offer a few hundred puffs of nicotine-containing vapour, often with an added flavour of fruit or sweets, in bright plastic packaging – which are thrown away when empty.

They are easier to use than conventional vapes, or e-cigarettes, which need to be refilled with pods or liquid.

Disposable ones also contain a small lithium battery, which can increase in temperature when crushed, causing fires in bin lorries, the Local Government Association (LGA) warns. » | Ben King, Business reporter, BBC News | Saturday, July 15, 2023

This is clearly the result of the unrelenting war that has been waged on the smoking of conventional cigarettes. There are probably more young people vaping today than there ever were young smokers of conventional cigarettes. Meddlesome politicians have a lot to answer for. By the way, many of those young vapers will quite probably go on to become smokers of real cigarettes in years to come. Politicians have solved nothing by encouraging people to vape. Moreover, as vaping is still in its infancy, we still do not know the long-term deleterious effects on health that come about as a result of vaping. In my opinion, the encouragement of vaping as a cigarette substitute is both reckless and irresponsible. – © Mark Alexander