The ban was announced on 24 October 2024 and will come into effect on 1 June 2025. It will apply to England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The ban will include all single-use vapes – whether or not they include nicotine – for sale in both shops and online.
Minister for public health and prevention, Andrew Gwynne, explained the ban in October: “Banning disposable vapes will not only protect the environment, but importantly reduce the appeal of vapes to children and keep them out of the hands of vulnerable young people.”
Reusable vapes will still be legal and must be both rechargeable and refillable to qualify. If the vape has a coil, it must be one that can be replaced by the average consumer. This is the part of the vape which vaporises the e-liquid.
Enforcement of the single-use vape ban
The guidance clarified that while the ban is consistent across the four nations, enforcement measures will be locally dictated.
In England, enforcement authorities will apply civil sanctions – including the possibility of a £200 fine – in the first instance. Repeated non-compliance could result in an unlimited fine or prison sentence of up to two years.
While the sanctions in Wales are similar to England, businesses in Northern Ireland and Scotland could face fines of up to £5,000.
Disposing of single-use vapes
Defra reminded the public that distributors of vapes are legally required to provide a vape “take back” scheme which accepts both vapes and vape parts for recycling.
Any vapes returned after the ban comes into effect must still be accepted as part of the take back scheme.
Retailers who still have stock of single-use vapes once the ban is in place must arrange for them to be recycled.
Defra advised that, from 1 June 2025, any leftover single-use vaping products must be:
- Separated from other goods
- Labelled as unsellable
- Removed from the shopfloor or online store until they’ve been collected by a registered vape recycling service
View the full guidance here.
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