As the disposable vape ban kicks in, hopes are high, but will it have an impact?

Single-use vapes seemed to appear almost overnight a few years ago. The use of a few popular brands then skyrocketed, particularly among younger people.  In eye-catching colours and sweet fruity flavours, it wasn’t long before these vapes became a familiar sight in supermarkets, convenience stores and littered across communities throughout Scotland.

Sheila Duffy, Chief Executive of ASH Scotland said: “Tobacco industry promotions have lured children into starting to use their addictive, harmful products for decades and the same is now happening with vapes and nicotine pouches.

Over the last 2-3 years, Fast Forward have responded to a huge rise in requests for information, resources and workshop sessions focusing on vaping from primary schools, secondary schools and community youth groups.

In the academic year 2024-25, we have responded by designing and delivering 157 workshop sessions focusing on the choices and decisions that young people face about vaping for our primary school, secondary school and youth work partnership organisations.

Almost two weeks ago, disposable vapes were banned in the UK. Aims included:

• Cutting their use among young people

The government said it hopes the ban will make vaping less accessible to children, as statistics show a growing popularity among those aged 11 to 15. Although the group with the highest rate of vape use, nearly 16%, was 16-24 year-olds.

• Protecting the Environment

Single-use vapes are difficult to recycle and typically end up in landfill where their batteries can leak harmful chemicals like battery acid, lithium, and mercury into the environment.

Although it’s too early to assess the impact it’s had on Scotland’s young people, it’s interesting to take a look behind the headlines.

ASH chief executive Hazel Cheeseman questioned what impact the ban would have, pointing out new refillable vape kits were coming on to the market that look and cost similar to the single-use ones.

She said it would not be until the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which includes powers to regulate marketing, branding and advertising, came into power that the issue of youth vaping could be truly tackled.

“Their appeal is driven by bright colours, wide availability and cheap prices,” she said.

“The new regulations will hopefully help to address the environmental impact, but government will need further regulations to address the appeal of products to teenagers.”

When speaking to young people in our sessions, despite some believing that the ban is a step in the right direction, others believe that this ban is not enough to mitigate the negative health and environmental impacts caused by single use vapes. Many were unaware of the changes in legislation, but weren’t too concerned due to the availability of illegal vapes:

• “I’m not sure what I’m going to do.”
• “I’ll just stock up until I run out and switch to refillable.”
• “Been buying boxes of them from my local . They’re trying to get rid of them, been buying ten vapes for £20. “I’ve bought loads – I’ll think about it when I run out.”
• “I’m not worried, I’m sure I’ll still get them anyway.”

As we know from speaking to young people, they often get their vapes from their peers who they identify as ‘vape dealers’. These young people are buying vapes in bulk online, and selling them on to their classmates on social media platforms like Snapchat to make a profit. Because of this, many young people will likely still be able to access illegal disposable vapes, hence the need for continued prevention and cessation support for young people. Furthermore, young people sadly often tell us they are completely reliant on their vapes and have mentioned they would move on to rechargeable systems if they needed to.

Unfortunately, on the lead up to the disposable vape ban, we found it wasn’t just young people largely unaware of the new legislation. It seemed that this was even the case for many teachers across Scotland.

Many teachers and youth workers we’ve spoken to have strong opinions on nicotine use, with several advising that they remain concerned about the potential health risks associated with vaping, particularly the addictive nature of nicotine and the negative impact that nicotine addiction can have on learning and brain development for young people. They are hopeful the ban will positively impact the classroom experience:

“I regularly see pupils getting more fidgety in class, ‘tuning out’ , not fully concentrating or participating in lessons because they are craving a nicotine hit from their vape. We’re talking P7 children here. It’s really concerning to see.”

Edinburgh primary school teacher

Schools and youth groups are also hopeful the ban will bring positive changes in terms of the environment and litter. With single use vapes a considerable issue in and around school grounds.

“Our school cleaning and janitorial staff have seen a big increase in the number of plastic disposable vapes simply thrown away at school gates and in playgrounds. We’ve even started to find disposable vapes thrown away in waste bins in the school toilets.”

Edinburgh secondary school teacher