Govt working on banning disposable vapes

The Gibraltar Government remains committed to banning the importation of disposable plastic vapes, No.6 Convent Place said, days after the UK announced plans to ban them as from next year.

Research by the UK Government shows disposable vapes, often marketed in bright colours and sweet flavours, are driving a rise in youth vaping.

In 2021, only 7.7% of current vapers aged 11 to 17 used disposable vapes, but this increased to 52% in 2022 and 69% in 2023.

In December 2022, the Gibraltar Government banned the sale of vapes to anyone under the age of 18.

But work is under way to tighten the law further, both for public health and environmental reasons.

The move was first announced in June last year.

“Work continues behind the scenes on the banning of the importation of disposable plastic vapes,” a spokesperson for No.6 Convent Place told the Chronicle.

“This is being led by the Ministry for Public Health, supported by the Ministry for Environment given the impact on the environment of discarded plastic vapes which is an additional problem.”

“The Government will make an announcement on this when it is ready to do so.”

The Gibraltar Government is also considering preventing the sale of tobacco products to anyone born after 2009, a move that the UK is also adopting.

In Gibraltar, the Government is considering a wider proposal to ban not just the sale of tobacco to anyone born after 2009, but of vapes too.

The Government expects its consultation to be ready by May, with an announcement likely at the next Budget.

The issue was raised by the Chief Minister during the ceremonial opening of Parliament last November.

“Our consultation will also seek the views of the medical profession on whether or not it should also be illegal to ever sell vapes to anyone born after 2009,” Mr Picardo said at the time.

“It seems clear that vaping is better than smoking. But it seems equally clear that vaping involves its own pulmonary dangers.”

In the UK, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said last week that his government would take “strong action” to “stamp out” youth vaping, following a public consultation on the issue in which almost 70% of respondents were in favour of a ban.

Headteachers and parents in the UK have expressed concerns over the rise in youth vaping, with data showing 7.6% of 11 to 17-year-olds now vape regularly or occasionally, up from 4.1% in 2020.

Mr Sunak said the rise in vaping among children is worrying, adding: “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,” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said. He stressed that adult smokers aiming to quit would still be able to access vape kits.

“Children shouldn’t be vaping, we don’t want them to get addicted, we still don’t understand the full long-term health impacts of vaping. So it is right we take strong action to stamp this out.”

In the UK, the ban on disposable vapes will use powers already in place under the Environmental Protection Act and is expected to come into force early next year.

Under the new plans, powers will also be introduced to restrict flavours which are specifically marketed at children and ensure that manufacturers produce plainer packaging and change how vapes are displayed in shops, moving them out of children’s sight.

New £100 fines will also be brought in for shops in England and Wales which sell vapes illegally to children.

Trading standards officers will be given powers to act “on the spot” to tackle under-age tobacco and vape sales. This builds on a maximum £2,500 fine that local authorities can already impose.