Disposable vapes have become quite the hot button topic over the last few years. When they were first created they were met with quite a positive reception. The idea behind them was more that they would be a useful tool for those looking to quit smoking. Whereas today they have become an addiction powered industry worth as much as £1.2 billion pounds. A staggering amount.
Disposable vapes have moved away from the idea of helping people combat addiction. There are hundreds of different brands touting thousands of different flavors. Nearly every supermarket and corner shop in the United Kingdom stocks disposable vapes. Shops are making a small fortune by selling them. So why is the UK banning them?
Addiction And Young People
The biggest and most blatant issue with disposable vapes is the danger they pose to the younger generations. The United Kingdom already has very strict rules regarding tobacco. Licensing is strict and the taxes on tobacco is so high that a lot of smaller shops don’t bother stocking too much of it anymore. And the major chains are far better at ensuring younger people can’t buy any.
Whereas disposable vapes are far easier for young people to acquire. Most corner shops stock hundreds of variants and are often far more lax with their ID’ing processes. And it is also extremely easy for young people to order disposable vapes through apps like Deliveroo and JustEat. And this has been devastating for the health of the younger generations in the UK.
Nicotine addiction in young people has been on the rise since 2022. It did decrease a bit during the COVID era. The increase in the last few years has been linked to the increase in sales of disposable vapes. They have become quite trendy, being very popular on social media apps like TikTok. In the same vein of how smoking cigarettes was considered very stylish in the 50’s and 60’s. All of this is a huge factor in the government’s decision to ban disposable vapes.
Health Of The Nation
Addiction in young people isn’t the only issue the government is concerned with. The general consensus is that disposable vapes are a healthier alternative to smoking. But the truth is there isn’t any actual confirmation of this. The long term side effects simply can’t be proven yet. And what’s worse is that disposable vapes are actually the most dangerous type of vaporizer out there.
Refillable vapes are considerably less dangerous than disposable ones. The e-liquid that is used within them is often far safer than that found within disposable vapes. And it is easier for the country to regulate and inspect the batches of vape liquid as opposed to the disposable vapes. But the healthiest vape unit is the dry herb vape.
Dry herb vapes have become extremely popular in the United Kingdom, particularly amongst those with a medical cannabis card in the UK. Dry herb vapes don’t use any e-liquid. Rather than directly cook a herb, creating vapor. With the banning of disposable vapes, the government of the UK is hoping to turn more people towards healthier vaping alternatives such as refillable units or dry herb vapes.
The Recycling Problem
The United Kingdom has never been known as a particularly green nation. The nation’s recycling initiatives aren’t as functional as they could be. And the nation is undoubtedly one of extreme waste. Particularly technological waste. And disposable vapes are a huge part of this problem.
The fact of the matter is most disposable vapes cannot be recycled yet. Some brands, such as Elf Bar, can be recycled by the manufacturers. But the vast majority of people aren’t aware of this and, as such, most disposable vapes simply end up in landfills. The latest surveys suggest that over 30 million disposable vapes are bought in the UK each month. And it is extremely likely that at least 90% of these won’t ever be recycled.
This isn’t only an issue of waste pollution either. Nearly every disposable vape makes use of a lithium battery. Lithium batteries are an extremely useful power source. And each year the UK is wasting millions upon millions of these batteries. While there isn’t a lithium shortage on the planet at the moment, it has been speculated that it could be due to supply issues and ongoing political issues around the globe. Banning disposable vapes in the UK, one of the most populated and powerful countries on the planet will definitely go a long way to reducing the amount of lithium batteries being wasted each year.
