The ban on the sale of single-use disposable vapes will come into force on Sunday across the UK. It’s aim is to protect the health of children and the environment.

From today retailers are no longer allowed to sale disposable vapes; however they’re still allowed to sell rechargeable & refillable vapes.

Disposable vapes have been cited as a key driver in the rise in youth vaping, whilst the the environmental toll is high as 5 million vapes are thrown away each week.

Ministers believe that these law changes will have positive effects, though health experts believe more needs to be done.

Retailers in England and Wales who sell disposable vapes despite the ban face a £200 fine for the first offence with potentially unlimited fines or jail for those who repeatedly re-offend.

Approximately 1 in 7 young people between the ages of 18-24 vape but have never smoked.

It’s deemed that vaping is less harmful than smoking but the NHS has said that vapes haven’t been around long enough to assess the long-term effects.

The environmental impact:

Because disposable vapes are currently hard to recycle, they often end up in a landfill where they leak toxic chemicals such as chemicals like battery acid, lithium, and mercury into the environment.

Environment minister Mary Creagh said: “For too long, single-use vapes have blighted our streets as litter and hooked our children on nicotine. That ends today.

“The government calls time on these nasty devices.”

But Action on Smoking and Health chief executive Hazel Cheeseman questioned what impact the ban would have, pointing out that new refillable vape kits were coming on to the market that look and cost similar to the single-use ones.