Disposable vapes are difficult to recycle and typically end up in landfills, where their batteries can leak harmful waste like battery acid, lithium and mercury into the environment, the government said.

Batteries thrown away with household waste also cause hundreds of fires in garbage trucks and waste treatment centers each year.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) estimates that almost five million single-use vapes were either thrown out in household waste every week last year, a four-fold increase from to the previous year.

By 2022, vapes containing a total of more than 40 tons of lithium, enough to power 5,000 electric vehicles, have been thrown away.

Defra Circular Economy Minister Mary Creagh, whose role focuses on reducing waste in the economy, said disposable vapes were “extremely wasteful and destroying our towns”.

“That’s why we’re banning single-use vapes as we end the throwaway culture in this country,” she said.

“This is the first step on the path to a circular economy, where we use resources for longer, reduce waste, accelerate the path to carbon neutrality and create thousands of jobs across the country. »

It’s already illegal to sell any vape to anyone under 18, but disposable vapes – often sold in smaller, more colorful packaging than refillable ones – are a “key driver of the alarming increase in vaping among young people,” the previous government said in its first statement. outlined his plan.

The number of people who vape without ever having smoked has also increased significantly in recent years, mainly driven by young adults.

Vaping is significantly less harmful than smoking, but it has not been around long enough for its long-term risks to be known, according to the NHS.

Public Health Minister Andrew Gwynne said disposable products had become the “product of choice for the majority of children vaping today” and banning them would “reduce the appeal of vapes to children and adults.” would keep it out of the reach of vulnerable young people.”

The government plans to introduce legislation banning the sale of disposable vapes from June 1, 2025, giving retailers time to sell off their remaining stock.

The devolved governments have all announced plans to introduce similar bans, and the UK government has said it is working with them to align dates for the bans to come into force.

The move is separate from government plans to end smoking by banning the sale of cigarettes to anyone born after January 2009.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said on Monday that a bill to enact the ban would be presented to Parliament before Christmas.

In response to the initial announcement of the ban on disposable vapes in January, the UK Vaping Industry Association said vapes had helped “millions of adults to quit and stay smoke-free” and that the plan would children in danger by “boosting the black market”.