Ban on disposable vapes contradicts UK harm reduction policy, says WVA

It believes such a ban contradicts the UK’s “existing and successful” harm reduction approach.

Michael Landl, the director of the WVA, said: “Prohibition doesn’t work. It never has, and it never will. A ban on disposable vapes will not eliminate the demand but shift it from regulated markets to the black market, creating negative, unintended public health consequences.”

“Disposable vapes can act as a crucial stepping stone for smokers looking to quit. They offer an easy entry point, and many consumers eventually transition to open systems. Making that path from smoking to vaping as frictionless as possible is essential for public health.

“While cigarettes, known to be extremely harmful, remain readily available, banning a 95% less harmful alternative defies logic.”

Though there are concerns about disposable vapes’ environmental impact and attractiveness to young people, these issues can be addressed through smart regulation rather than an outright ban. “If disposables are banned, we won’t find solutions to these problems. Instead, we’ll leave them to the illicit market.”

The UK has recently widely acknowledged vaping as a smoking cessation tool through its “Swap-to-Stop” program, committed to further reducing smoking rates.

WVA pointed to the Office for National Statistics figures showing that UK smoking rates have fallen by more than 29% in the last decade (when vaping became popular), twice as fast as rates in the EU.

Landl added: “Countries with an open harm reduction approach, like Sweden, which recently reduced taxes on snus, have successfully reduced smoking rates. The UK should not regress by adopting policies that have proven to be ineffective.”

Also opposed to a ban is Mohammad Agrabawi, ANDS senior director of corporate affairs. While he reaffirmed the company’s support of movement by the British government to curbing down youth vaping, he said this should be achieved through greater enforcement and penalties against the rouge retailers and traders who sell these products to under18s.

“Britain’s approach of proportionate regulation in the vaping sector has attracted significant investment from within the country and outside, arguably making the industry the economic success story of the last decade,” said Agrabawi.

“Research conducted by the Centre for Economics and Business Research found the UK vape sector had an aggregate turnover of £2.8bn and supported almost 18,000 full-time equivalent jobs across ‘retail, manufacturing and the supply chain’ in 2021 – since then, the UK adult vaping population has grown by almost 30%.

“We have always been supportive of the British government’s historically balanced and pragmatic approach towards tobacco harm reduction – which has set a leading example for other countries- and urge ministers to continue down this evidence-based path instead of opting for a ban.”

He also said a ban on any nicotine delivery solution would fuel a dangerous black market – as has been seen in Australia, which has some of the most restrictive vape policies in the world.