Disposable, or single use vapes, must be banned due to their environment, social and health impacts, say coastal councils.
The Local Government Association Coastal Special Interest Group has a membership of 57 coastal local authorities across England, covering around 60% of the coastline and 16 million people. As a group, they are joining the call of the Local Government Association to Government to ban the sale, manufacture and supply of single vapes by 2024.
Coastal communities, like many others, are being flooded with disposable vapes which local authorities are experiencing as a hazard in waste collection, impacts to the environment and across the education sector.
“We understand the opportunity that vapes give to those trying to give up smoking and believe that reusable vapes have a strong role to play in this. However, the vast amount of single use vapes that are marketed everywhere and sold in their millions are presenting a huge challenge for society.
“These vapes are hazardous presenting risk to our waste collectors. They are very difficult to recycle, with hours and specialist knowledge needed to dismantle them due to their parts including the lithium-ion batteries which are themselves dangerous as can cause fires if not disposed of correctly.
“The impact that they are having on our children is simply unacceptable, and whilst we welcome today’s news from one manufacturer around the removal of specific flavours from sale, we join the Local Government Association in their call for a full ban – stopping manufacture, supply and sale across the UK. Reusable vapes should still be made available but only via prescription from health services to support those who need it.
“We have seen the damage done to society by smoking of tobacco and we want Government to take the same strong line with vapes.”
The response of the LGA Coastal SIG, follows a meeting where the Group were joined by Cllr David Fothergill, Chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board Chair:
“Councils are not anti-vapes, which are shown to be less harmful than smoking and have a place as a tool to use in smoking cessation.
“However, disposable vapes are fundamentally flawed in their design and inherently unsustainable products, meaning an outright ban will prove more effective than attempts to recycle more 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 centres. Their colours, flavours and advertising are appealing to children and the penalties for retailers selling them don’t go far enough.
“Councils urge the Government to take this action to protect our planet, keep children safe and save taxpayers money.”
The LGA Coastal SIG members voted to support this call from the LGA, alongside the Ban Disposable Vapes campaign of Laura Young, Less Waste Laura, who also spoke to the group. Laura has tirelessly campaigned to raise awareness of the dangers posed by the millions of single use vapes thrown away each week:
“Single-use vapes are one of the most wasteful products we’ve let into our world, and they pose health risks to young people picking up a habit.
“It is great to see the growing movement towards the ban of disposable vapes in the UK, something which the LGA has been championing!”
The UK Government currently have a live consultation looking specifically at youth vaping, access and marketing and disposability which we are all calling for people to respond. The deadline is the Wednesday 6th December Creating a smokefree generation and tackling youth vaping – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Notes to editors
The LGA Coastal SIG champions the collective interests of coastal communities by increasing awareness and debate on environmental, economic, and social issues at all levels in relation to the coast. The Lead Authority for the LGA Coastal SIG is South Tyneside Council, who has held this position since September 2019 and the group is formed of 57 member councils, covering 60% of the English coastline and representing 16 million people.
Website: https://lgacoastalsig.com/ Contact lgacoastalsig@southtyneside.gov.uk Chair: Cllr Ernest Gibson. Lead Officer: Beccy MacDonald-Lofts rebecca.lofts@southtyneside.gov.uk Twitter: @LGACoastalSIG
Laura Young is a multi-award-winning climate activist, and ethical influencer. Laura’s social media platforms continue to grow, creating a community of activists. You can find her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and YouTube all under @LessWasteLaura. She was recently awarded the Scottish Influencer of the Year – Inspiration for her work.
Laura started, and continues to lead, the campaign to see single-use disposable vapes banned across Scotland and the UK. This work has been nominated for a Holyrood Climate Action award, and has led the UK Government to launch a consultation on the issue. You can find out more about Laura’s work here: https://www.lesswastelaura.com/