[su_pullquote]Disposables can act as a crucial stepping stone for smokers looking to quit because they provide an easy entry point, and after trying them many former smokers tend to eventually transition to open systems.[/su_pullquote]Concerns about the widespread use of single use vapes have been consistently growing worldwide. The main issues with the products are the fact that they are amassing an overwhelming number of waste due to its non recycle parts and their disposable nature. Moreover, the disposable and therefore non-committal and cheap factors of products, are very alluring to teens.
In fact, capitalizing on these factors a wave of products disguised as school supplies, such as highlighters and USBs are allegedly flooding into the U.S. from China. Other vapes are made to look like ballpoint pens and even phones, and they are available in all the popular fruity flavours. These vapes are reportedly also unregulated, and therefore possibly unsafe.
Meanwhile, bans on disposable vapes are spreading like wildfire. Within Europe, the Prime Minister of France, Élisabeth Borne, has recently announced that the country is planning to ban disposables, locally known as “puffs.” While Switzerland’s French-speaking cantons, with the exception of Vaud and Jura have already banned vape sales to under 18s, and Basel-City and Basel-Landschaft in the German-speaking region of the nation have also introduced such bans.
Ireland has opened a public consultation on a ban on the products, while Belgium is waiting for the EU to accept a proposed ban, and Germany is expected to follow suit. However, the most unexpected move came from the United Kingdom, a country which has always endorsed the use of such products as safer alternatives. The UK has just announced a ban on disposables after concluding that the products are appealing to teens, and this move could come as soon as next week.
Earlier this year, UK ministers were considering setting in place a new tax on vaping products. The discussed proposals also include further regulations on packaging, marketing and flavours, however at the time, a total ban on disposable vapes was ruled out.
The ban on disposables will be a setback to the UK’s smoke-free progress
In response to the UK’s latest announcement, the World Vapers’ Alliance (WVA) is urging policymakers to consider the consequences this move would have and the fact that it contradicts the nation’s own successful strategy to reduce tobacco harm. “Prohibition doesn’t work. It never has, and it never will. A ban on disposable vapes will not eliminate the demand but shift it from regulated markets to the black market, creating negative, unintended public health consequences,” said WVA Director Michael Landl.
He went on to explain how disposables can act as a crucial stepping stone for smokers looking to quit because they provide an easy entry point, and after trying them many former smokers tend to eventually transition to open systems. This makes the transition from smoking to vaping “as frictionless as possible is essential for public health” said Landl.
He highlighted that while there are clear problems with the products, such as the waste issue and their attractiveness to youngsters, these threats should be dealt with by setting in place proper and effective regulations, not bans. “While cigarettes, known to be extremely harmful, remain readily available, banning a 95% less harmful alternative defies logic,” he added.
UK review reiterates the relative safety of vaping
In fact, a review covering 413 studies since 2018, using the list of toxicants identified by the World Health Organization (WHO), such as carbon monoxide, tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), reiterated that vaping only poses a small faction of the toxicants found in smoking.
“Another day and another study proves vaping is considerably less harmful than smoking, yet the World Health Organisation continues its anti-vaping campaign at the cost of millions of smokers’ lives,” said Nancy Loucas, Executive Coordinator of CAPHRA (Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates), discussing the findings.
Published earlier this year, the independent review included studies from the UK. Discussing the report Dr Debbie Robson from Queens College London re-emphasized the relative safety of vaping. “In terms of health risks, we said that vaping imposes a small fraction of the risk of smoking in the short to medium term. Consistently, vaping exposes people to much lower level, significantly lower levels of risk than smoking.”
Five Million Disposable Vapes Are Discarded Per Week in The UK, Reveals Latest Research