According to reports, ministers may decide to outlaw disposable vapes in an effort to prevent children from becoming addicted.

According to ITV, health ministers are to take action after determining that single-use vapes are mostly marketed to people under the age of 18. Although using e-cigarettes is becoming more popular, selling vapes to those under the age of 18 is against the law.

However, teens frequently upload pictures of their vapes and discuss flavors like pink lemonade, strawberry, banana, and mango on social media platforms, especially TikTok.

Tightening the Use of Vapes

A Westminster source did not refute the allegations of the ban. In response to worries over the number of kids using e-cigarettes, ministers earlier this year promised to tighten a loophole permitting merchants to distribute free samples of vapes to youngsters in England.

According to NHS data from 2021, 9 percent of 11 to 15-year-olds used e-cigarettes, up from 6 percent in 2018. Exclusive data from the anti-smoking organization ASH reveals that a third of minors under the age of 18 had come across online vape promotions.

(Photo: by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
A display of disposable vape electronic cigarettes is seen in a shop in Liverpool, north-west England, on July 15, 2023.

In May, Rishi Sunak stated that he was "deeply concerned" about the rise in youth vaping and was "shocked by reports of illicit vapes containing lead getting into the hands of schoolchildren".

The action was taken a few days after the prime leader expressed concern about his own daughters perhaps becoming the focus of vape marketing during an appearance on ITV's This Morning.

According to data issued last week by the Office of National Statistics, 4.5 million adults nationwide, or 8.7 percent, reported that they presently use an e-cigarette daily or rarely. From 7.7 percent of persons in 2021, this is an increase.

In the UK, the age group with the largest e-cigarette use was 16 to 24 years old, and in 2022, 15.5 percent of people in this category were daily or occasional vapers, up from 11.5 percent.

Read also: US Adult Cigarette Smoking Rate Drops to Record Low, Signaling Positive Trend

The Time for Legal Change

In order to stop the sale of single-use disposable e-cigarettes to all users, not just youngsters, councils are now pressing for legal change.

In light of the prevalence of poisonous garbage, France recently announced that it would join other nations like Australia in enacting a throw-away gadget ban.

The government looked into the way e-cigarettes were marketed, their appeal to youngsters, how they were regarded on social media, and other factors early this year, though the specifics of the purported ban by ministers have not yet been disclosed.

A review of the prohibition against stores selling "nicotine-free" vapes to people under the age of 18 was previously announced by Westminster.

A review of the laws governing the punishment of businesses that unlicensedly sell e-cigarettes to youngsters will also take place, which the government claims would make it simpler for regional trading standards officers to impose fixed penalty notices and on-the-spot fines.

Vaping has been connected by medical professionals to a range of health issues, such as asthma, lung scarring, and other organ damage.

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