More than £1 billion is set to be wiped from the UK e-cigarette industry after the Prime Minister announced an outright ban on disposable vapes.
The ban, which is aimed at slashing the uptake of vaping among teenagers, is expected to be enacted later this year with retailers given a six-month implementation period.
The disposable vape category is worth as much as £1.2 billion in the UK annually, according to figures by ECigIntelligence, with disposables representing more than 4 in 5 vapes sold.
The ban poses a major threat to the UK’s vape retailers, which have occupied a growing share of the British high street. There are now more than 3,500 specialist vape shops in the UK, according to figures from the Local Data Company – which exclude other e-cigarette stockists such as supermarkets and newsagents.
The announcement came as a blow to vape supplier Chill Brands, with its shares tumbling as much as 40% after markets opened today as it vowed to “adjust” its operations to accommodate for the change.
Nearly 70% of parents, teachers, healthcare professionals and the general public are supportive of the measure, according to a government consultation, with studies suggesting as much as 9% of 11 to 15-year-olds are now using vapes and the proportion of 11 to 17-year-old vapers using disposablesâ¯increasing almost ninefold in the last two years. A huge rise in the amount of e-wage resulting from vape disposal is also cited as a concern.
PM Rishi Sunak said: “As any parent or teacher knows, one of the most worrying trends at the moment is the rise in vaping among children, and so we must act before it becomes endemic.
“The long-term impacts of vaping are unknown and the nicotine within them can be highly addictive, so while vaping can be a useful tool to help smokers quit, marketing vapes to children is not acceptable.”
The move is the latest sign in a wider global crackdown on e-cigarettes, with China and several US states having banned the sale of flavoured vapes domestically – amid evidence fruit flavours are most popular with children and teenagers.
But some in the industry have warned of unintended consequences of a disposables ban.
Muntazir Dipoti, the National President of the Federation of the Independent Retailers, said: “While we agree that action is needed to prevent children and young people being attracted to vaping, we do not believe that banning disposable vapes is the way to go about it.
“An outright ban will simply send youngsters towards unorthodox and illicit sources where there is no compliance to tobacco and vaping laws, while the products they peddle are likely to contain dangerous and illegal levels of toxic chemicals.
“Disposable vapes are usually more affordable and, as such, are a bigger incentive for adult smokers to change to vapes.”
