It's plastic free July, so I thought I'd share some recent information published last month about a particularly awful piece of plastic pollution - disposable e-cigarettes/vapes.
This statement (https://www.rcpch.ac.uk/news-events/news/childrens-doctors-call-outrigh…) from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health calls for an outright ban, citing the potential health and environmental harms. They state that "at least 1.3 million disposable vapes are thrown away every week in the UK – two every second." These 'disposable' items contain precious minerals (lithium), toxic chemicals, and are a fire risk.
This report (https://www.zerowastescotland.org.uk/resources/environmental-impact-sin…) commissioned by the Scottish government contains more in-depth information, and yet more startling statistics, such as:
- "The lithium polymer batteries used in some of the most popular e-cigarettes could be recharged 500 times if the product allowed for such"
- "The total emissions associated with single-use vapes in 2022 was estimated to be between 3375 and 4292 tonnes CO2e"
- "We estimate that in the year ending January 2023, there were 543,000 vapers in Scotland of which we estimate...78 thousand (14%) were under 18. Without intervention, this could rise to over 900,000 users by 2027."
I was shocked by the numbers, and the sheer wastefulness. To quote paediatric respiratory consultant and RCPCH vice-president for policy Dr Mike McKean "What we do know is that these products are not risk free, are likely to be damaging for developing young lungs and are also terrible for our environment. This is a lose, lose situation."
A UK government call for evidence on youth vaping, including disposable vapes, has just closed. I sincerely hope they, and the Scottish government in response to the report above, find ways to tackle this 'lose lose' situation effectively. In the meantime, I hope that raising awareness, and advocating for change in anyway we can, can help.
For interest, here is the response to the call from ASH.
1. Put a specific tax on disposable vapes of £5 (make them more expensive than reusables, and put them within the HMRC Excise Regime, so that customs have power/funding to intercept illegal imports).
2. Reinstate funding for sustained anti-smoking campaigns promoting vaping as the most effective quitting aid available for adult smokers
3. Prohibit instore promotion of e-cigarettes with exemptions for age restricted specialist vape shops
4. Prohibit branding with appeal to children
https://ash.org.uk/media-centre/news/press-releases/ash-response-to-vap…
Thank you for sharing this, an interesting point re patient groups who may benefit from disposable vapes (as opposed to reusable vapes) in their smoking cessation attempts. A very complex area to regulate, but hopefully input from expert groups such as ASH will help the government to reach a resolution.
The beneift of putting a tax on them is that it brings in substantial enforcement resources/mechanisms
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