I don’t think that anyone would disagree that there is a problem with vaping in the UK at the moment, most significantly amongst children and young people. I have seen children as young as 8 walking around holding vapes, which just feels so wrong. However, the marketing and branding of most disposable vapes, featuring bright colours and sweet flavours, naturally appeal to children, whether this is intentional or not. This takes away the focus on nicotine content warnings which go almost unnoticed and are completely gone once the external packaging is disposed of.
As vapes are relatively new, the NHS is keen to make clear the fact that the long-term effects of vaping are unknown. It is possible that vaping may have significant effects on children’s physical and mental wellbeing later in life, which is not a risk I think is worth taking, especially since there is no reason for children to be accessing these products.
This could potentially bring more severe health risks, as these illegal vapes would not have to pass the same safety checks as those currently sold.
Though it is undoubtable that some action needs to be taken to improve this situation, I do not agree that an outright ban is the most constructive way to achieve this. Ultimately, the sale of disposable vapes to underage children is a prime example of the little impact that legislation has in practicality, as even though in theory ID is required to buy products containing nicotine, this is clearly not strongly enough enforced. It is instead likely that the use of vapes will not decline as much as would be expected, and that illegal sales will increase. This could potentially bring more severe health risks, as these illegal vapes would not have to pass the same safety checks as those currently sold.
Equally, an outright ban disproportionally affects adults choosing to vape for a number of reasons, most significantly as a method of quitting smoking. The short-term health risks of vapes are much less severe than smoking, as they do not contain as many of the harmful chemicals found in cigarettes. Although the ban would not prevent adults from buying refillable vapes, these can be much more expensive and are therefore less accessible. It seems unfair to remove a healthier alternative to smoking, denying people the ability to make decisions for themselves.
At this point vapes are deeply embedded in our social structure, with an estimated 9% of the British public now using them. I think it is unlikely that a ban on disposable vapes will do much to change this, and instead the focus should be on adapting the marketing of vapes, realigning the product with its target consumer.
