Disposable vapes are set to be axed under a tough Government crackdown on youth vaping to prevent thousands of children from becoming ‘hooked for life’.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the ban, expected to come into force by the end of the year or in early 2025, was balanced and the ‘right’ action.
Although widely viewed as safer than smoking, the long-term effects of vaping still remain a mystery.
Doctors have expressed fear there could be a wave of lung disease, dental issues and even cancer in the coming decades in people who took up the habit at a young age.
The number of children using vapes in the past three years has tripled.
Figures show nine per cent of children aged 11 to 15 now vape, with the long-term health impacts still unknown.
Campaigners have warned for years that kids are being targeted by eye-catching ads for vapes, which cost as little as £3, on social media and being lured in by their child-friendly flavours such as bubble gum and strawberry.
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E-cigs allow people to inhale nicotine in a vapour — which is produced by heating a liquid, which typically contains propylene glycol, glycerine, flavourings, and other chemicals.
Unlike traditional cigarettes, they do not contain tobacco, nor do they produce tar or carbon — two of the most dangerous elements.
Kids as young as eight have picked up the vaping habit, according to Trading Standards.
While it is illegal to sell them to under-18s, social media is flooded with posts from teenagers showing coloured vapes and discussing flavours, such as strawberry ice cream, cotton candy and cherry cola.
Some brands can also feature cartoon characters as part of their tactics to appeal to customers. Many contain addictive nicotine.
Shares in vaping firms have today already tumbled following the announcement.
While it is illegal to sell them to under-18s, social media is flooded with posts from teenagers showing coloured vapes and discussing flavours, such as strawberry ice cream, cotton candy and cherry cola
NHS Digital data, based on the smoking, drinking and drug use among young people in England survey for the year 2021, showed 30 per cent of children in Yorkshire and the Humber have used a vape
Chill Brands saw shares slide by as much as 35 per cent in early trading as a result, while rival business Supreme saw shares drop around 12 per cent.
Chill’s market value had fallen by over £3million, with over £10million knocked off Supreme’s valuation during the morning trading session.
But the expected crackdown on disposable vapes follows a major study last week, which revealed seven per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds who have never smoked were now vaping.
Yet the wider range of proposals — which includes a plan to eventually ban children from ever being able to legally buy cigarettes in the UK — have been criticised as ‘nanny state’ by critics and Tories.
Vocal nay-sayers include former PM Liz Truss who said the Government ‘should not be seeking to extend the nanny state’.
Everything you need to know about e-cigarettes
How much nicotine is in an e-cigarette?
There are many different brands of e-cigarettes, containing various different nicotine levels.
The legal amount of nicotine in an e-liquid capacity in the UK is 20mg/ml equating to between 600 and 800 puffs.
The Elf Bar 600, one of Britain’s most popular vapes, is advertised as coming in nicotine strengths of 0mg, 10mg and 20mg.
How many cigarettes are ‘in’ an e-cigarette?
The Elf Bar 600 contains the equivalent to 48 cigarettes, analysts say.
It delivers 600 puffs before it needs to be thrown away, meaning, in theory, every 12.5 puffs equate to one cigarette.
Experts say for many e-cigarettes, 100 puffs equate to ten normal cigarettes.
Elf Bars are a brand of e-cigarettes often sold in snazzy colours and with child-friendly names and flavours, like blue razz lemonade and green gummy bear
Is vaping better for your health than cigarettes?
Vaping products are considered to be better than cigarettes as users are exposed to fewer toxins and at lower levels, according to the NHS.
The health service adds that vaping instead of smoking cigarettes reduces your exposure to toxins that can cause cancer, lung disease and diseases of the heart and circulation, such as strokes and heart attacks.
Public Health England, which is now defunct, published an expert independent review in 2015 concluding that e-cigarettes are around 95 per cent less harmful than cigarettes.
However vaping is not risk-free, as while levels in tobacco-products are much higher, e-cigarettes still contain harmful toxins, according to a study by researchers from the Medical University of Silesia in Poland.
And Dr Onkar Mudhar, a London dentist who posts videos on TikTok, said Elf bars can cause gum inflammation, swelling and bleeding.
He said this is because nicotine dries out your mouth and reduces saliva, causing irritation from a build-up of bacteria and food that can’t get washed away.
Nearly 350 hospitalisations due to vaping were logged in England in 2022, which are thought to be mainly down to respiratory problems, such as shortness of breath, chest pain, lung inflammation and, in severe cases, respiratory failure.