ACS has welcomed confirmation from the government that the proposed ban on disposable vaping products will be delayed to June 1, 2025, to allow retailers enough time to prepare.
The government has laid out legislation to introduce the ban and, subject to parliamentary approval, retailers will have until June 1, 2025, to sell any remaining stock they hold and prepare for the ban coming into force. The UK government and devolved governments have worked closely on this and anticipate that the new rules will come into force on the same date across the UK.
The ban was initially proposed by the previous government with a planned implementation date of April 1, 2025.
ACS highlighted to officials the importance of a sell-through period of at least six months to enable businesses to prepare.
ACS chief executive James Lowman says: “We welcome the government’s intention to provide businesses with enough time to prepare for the changes, including selling through existing product, working with suppliers to source alternative products and making structural changes to their displays in stores. This is still a challenging timetable for retailers and their supply chains, and we have developed comprehensive guidance on the ban which will be published shortly to help businesses with the transition.
“Once the ban is in place, it is essential that rogue sellers who are still selling disposable vaping products face the full force of the law and that Trading Standards enforcement teams are made aware as soon as possible, as these businesses undermine legitimate retailers.”
From June 1, the only vaping products that will be available for sale legally in the UK must be refillable and rechargeable, intended for multiple uses as opposed to single-use products. And all retailers who sell vaping products must provide recycling facilities in their stores on at least a one-for-one basis.
A spokesperson for leading brand Elfbar adds: “We support efforts to address underage vaping and environmental concerns and understand the motivation for the English and Welsh governments to move forward with the decision, which the rest of the UK is expected to align on. Our concern is the potential impact on the majority of single-use vapers – adult smokers using them as a less harmful alternative, pushing them to the black market and illicit products.
“Action on Smoking and Health data shows nearly three million people in Britain have quit smoking using vapes in the last five years. Single-use vapes account for over 60% of UK sales and play a vital role in this transition. Ensuring adult vapers continue to have access to viable alternatives is crucial, particularly if governments are to meet their respective smokefree targets.
“Our distributors work with producer compliance schemes to support the costs of recycling used vapes, which is evolving due to the new regulatory requirements we strongly support. We’ve also supplied 1,500 vape bins across the UK through retail partners to aid the recycling, and the number is growing.
“With six million UK smokers and many adults relying on single use vapes to quit, it’s essential to continue encouraging the switch to reusable options.”
