The Right Way To Respond To The Disposable Vapes Ban

The ban on the sale of single-use disposable vapes is just weeks away, coming into effect from June 1st. As we have regularly advised, now is the time to start using vape pod kits and get used to them in preparation for the necessity that next month will bring.

In the meantime, you can of course take advantage of our clearance sale and pick up some cheap vaping bargains to enjoy a few last disposable puffs. Of course, we should also advise that these need to be disposed of appropriately by getting them recycled - littering concerns were a key environmental issue that motivated the imposition of the ban.

However, it appears the message has not been heeded by everyone. Some are not quite aware of what to do with their disposables as June 1st approaches, while others are looking for other ways of getting their nicotine hit without lighting up a cigarette.

Could The Ban Lead To More Illegal Activity?

Firstly, it has been clarified that you can bring single-use disposables into the UK from abroad after June 1st and use them here, as long as they won’t be sold on, so if you go on holiday in a country where they are still available, you don’t have to use them all before you return home.

Unfortunately, one survey has indicated that some people may not be so law-abiding; as Talking Retail notes with some alarm, a survey by Evapo has found that as many as 61 per cent of those who currently use single-use vapes would consider buying the same products illegally after June 1st, if they could acquire them.

Further survey findings included 30 per cent saying that rising prices caused by higher taxation on vapes could push them back into smoking, while 44 per cent said they thought making vaping more expensive could either make vapers revert to smoking or put smokers off using vaping as a smoking cessation tool.

How Useful Vaping Has Been In Helping People Quit

The survey showed just how useful e-cigarettes had been in helping people quit smoking, with 93 per cent saying they had helped in this, with 76 per cent saying it was specifically disposables that had aided them in achieving their goal. Another finding was that 57 per cent of vapers would consider stockpiling disposables before the ban comes into effect.

Talking Retail suggested the latter finding was a sign that there could be strong demand for illicit single-use vapes after the ban comes in, citing evidence of this happening in Australia, where the government has taken a heavily anti-vaping line.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with stocking up a bit on disposables just now, especially when there are so many bargains available, but there is everything wrong with going down the illegal route, not least as such products may not be safe, since by definition they will not be covered by regulations over permitted levels of nicotine or other substances in them.

What the survey does show is that governments need to proceed carefully and remember the benefits of vaping as a smoking cessation tool. High taxes and other curbs could kill the goose that lays the golden egg.

Pouches Instead Of Vapes?

Further evidence of this danger has emerged through another survey, this time in the US. Jama Network found that the use of nicotine pouches by members of Generation Z doubled in 2023 and 2024.

While these do not contain tobacco and therefore are very unlikely to carry the high risk of mouth cancer that tobacco pouches do, the levels of nicotine may be unknown, and the fact that they can sit there in the mouth for extended periods may lead to higher doses being ingested.

Once again, this may be an area of concern in the UK as well. Could generation Z members who cannot access disposable vapes turn to nicotine pouches as their alternative to smoking?

The Right Solution

The answer remains for vapers to get used to vape pod kits, using this window of opportunity to learn to do so (and it really isn’t rocket science, we promise), while still having quick access to vapes through disposables.

That way, you can be entirely au fait with using refillable vapes by the time June comes around and your stock of single-use vapes is exhausted.

Vaping has proven a very good way of kicking the smoking habit, something that many people find a big challenge, whatever their methods. By comparison, switching from single-use to refillable vapes won’t take any huge change in willpower, nor involve any noticeable change when it actually comes to consuming the product.

By adapting now, you can go on enjoying the flavours and the benefits that vaping can bring, entirely legally.