Britain to crack down on single-use vapes by 2025 to curb rising use among children

The UK is set to ban single-use vapes next year. Britain took the decision seeking to target both environmental concerns and to crack down on the increasing number of children using them.

Children and vapes

A 2024 survey by the health charity ASH found that one in five children aged 11 to 17 had already experimented with vaping.

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Health officials, as per Reuters, have raised alarms over how appealing these vapes have become to young people, thanks to their colourful designs and fruity flavours.

Although it's illegal to sell nicotine vapes to anyone under 18, or for adults to buy them for minors, enforcement has been tricky.

Lisa Eva Nandy, the Labour Party's culture minister, highlighted that the number of youth vaping has tripled in the past three years. Speaking to Sky News, she said that disposable vapes are not only contributing to this worrying trend but also causing environmental damage.

"We have been increasingly concerned," she said, adding that the ban is aimed at breaking "this cycle where children are getting into the habit of vaping at younger and younger ages".

This proposed ban was initially suggested by the previous Conservative government earlier in the year but wasn't put into action before the July election, which Labour won. Now, with Labour in charge, the plan is back on the table, and as per media reports, is expected to be enforced in June 2025.

Are vapes all bad?

Ironically, while there's concern over youth vaping, single-use vapes have proven to be a major tool in helping adults quit smoking. An ASH research shows that vapes are the most common method used by smokers looking to quit, with nearly 3 million people in the UK having successfully used them to stop smoking over the last five years.

(With inputs from agencies)