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E-cigarettes, more commonly known as vapes, have reportedly seen a decline in popularity ahead of the UK-wide ban that comes into effect at the start of June. From then on, disposable versions will no longer be available.
The use of disposable vapes has seen a sharp decline in the last year, a new report suggests.
63% of those aged 16-24 mainly used disposable vapes in 2024. This has dropped by nearly half, with only 35% saying they still purchase them, researchers at University College London claim.
However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that vape users are consuming less. Instead, researchers reckon that young people are simply switching to rechargeable or refillable vapes to prepare for when the ban goes into effect.
As a result, the actual effectiveness of the ban on usage rates is likely to be ‘limited’ or minimal at best. It’s worth noting that the rates of vaping had stalled over the previous year anyway, after several years of steady growth.
Littering is where the ban may still be worthwhile, as most vapes cannot be recycled and end up in landfill, in national parks, or simply dumped on streets. I’m sure most readers will have seen countless vapes thrown about public spaces over the past five years.
Rechargeable vapes can be refilled with special liquid. While not ideal, they are absolutely a better alternative to the disposable versions that often contain lithium-ion batteries.
These are only used for a single cycle before being thrown away, but can actually work for hundreds of cycles. The result is endless amounts of unnecessary battery e-waste.
