Vape pens are supposed to be a less invasive way of enjoying tobacco.
Instead of acrid smoke and environmentally harmful cigarette butts, vapes allow smokers to blow flavored aerosol mist and leave nothing behind. Unless you are using a disposable one.
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Across the pond, regulators in the U.K. are discussing whether they should ban single-use vapes .
"Single-use vapes blight our streets as litter, are a hazard in our bin lorries, are expensive and difficult to deal with in our recycling centers. It is important that a ban is brought in at pace. Disposable vapes are an inherently unsustainable product," David Fothergill, chair of the Local Government Association's community wellbeing board said, according to The Guardian.
Some in the U.K. are calling disposable vape pens "a public health disaster" while certain groups like the non-profit Material Focus estimate that five million single-use vapes were thrown away every week in 2022.
“We welcome the idea of a consultation on disposables as it’s key that the industry gets the opportunity to highlight the benefits, and therefore continued need, for single-use vapes as a smoking cessation method," John Dunne, director general of the UK Vaping Industry Association said, according to Talking Retail.
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"A ban is not the answer. Some 220 people die from smoking every day, 365 days a year. Disposables have proved to be highly effective in helping smokers quit their habits due to their ease of use, accessibility and low entry price points."
That amounts to about eight vapes discarded per second. There was enough lithium in those discarded vapes to create 5,000 electric car batteries a year.
About a third of the young people who vape throw their e-cigs in the trashcan.
The U.K. is looking to limit vape sales like its mainland neighbor France, whose prime minister, Elisabeth Borne, last week said that the government would present a national plan to bad disposable e-cigs. In Germany, they have already banned flavored vapes and Ireland is also looking to ban single-use vapes.
Meanwhile, back in the states the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has been cracking down on flavored vapes since at least 2020. The FDA has authorized only 23 specific e-cigarette products, all which are tobacco-flavored cigarette alternatives that are marketed at adults.
Though, like many things that are banned by the government, there is a robust illegal market for single-use flavored vapes in the States.
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