A Defra report has cautioned ministers that the proposed ban on the sale of disposable vapes by next summer could lead to some users “reverting or relapsing” back to cigarette smoking. The report reveals that 29% of current vapers may either return to smoking tobacco or quit vaping and smoking altogether as a result of the ban, potentially leading to “health disbenefits.”
The legislation, set to be introduced to Parliament this year, aims to ban the sale of single-use vapes in England, partially to limit the environmental damage they cause. However, the impact assessment by Defra assumes that while most disposable vape users will switch to reusable vapes, a proportion may revert to smoking tobacco.
Vape usage in England has grown by more than 400% between 2012 and 2023, with 9.1% of the public now buying and using the products. The tobacco and vapes bill, initially tabled under Rishi Sunak’s premiership, seeks to prevent anyone born from 2009 onwards from legally smoking by gradually raising the age at which tobacco can be bought. It also aims to impose restrictions on the sale and marketing of vapes to children.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting has pledged to introduce the bill “before Christmas.” However, Labour MP Mary Glindon criticized the Chancellor’s tax increase on vape liquid during the budget debate, arguing that it could discourage people from quitting smoking. Glindon described the increase, set to take place in October 2026, as “unsustainably high” and potentially harmful to working people who use vapes.
A recent study published in Lancet Public Health found that about 1 million adults in England now vape despite never being regular smokers. The research, which analyzed survey data from 153,073 adults in England between 2016 and 2024, revealed that the proportion of never-regular-smokers who vaped increased from an average of 0.5% between 2016 and 2020 to 3.5% by April 2024. More than half of these new vapers, an estimated 588,000, were aged between 18 and 24.
A separate study led by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) suggested that banning the sale of tobacco to people born between 2006 and 2010 could prevent 1.2 million lung cancer deaths by 2095.
The government has emphasized the importance of protecting children from the dangers of smoking and nicotine addiction, citing the fact that a quarter of 11- to 15-year-olds used a vape last year, and the overall number of children using them has tripled in the past three years. The tobacco and vapes bill aims to pave the way for a smoke-free UK, helping future generations live well for longer and easing the strain on the NHS.
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