A U.S. appeals court endorsed the Food and Drug Administration’s authority over vaping products in a case challenging a marketing denial order (MDO), reports ECigIntelligence.
New York-based Prohibition Juice had disputed an MDO, asserting that the agency lacked the statutory authority to consider a product’s “relative effectiveness at promoting cessation of combustible cigarette use versus another product with an otherwise similar health risk profile and labeling.”
However, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that the FDA is entitled under the Tobacco Control Act to determine whether a product is appropriate for the protection of public health, and that meant an applicant must supply all information concerning investigations that have been made on the health risks of a product as well as whether a product presents less risk than others.
Parents who vape of smoke are 55 percent more likely to have teenagers who will pick up the habit, according to research presented at the European Respiratory Society International Congress in Barcelona, Spain.
The researchers have also found that the proportion who have tried e-cigarettes has been increasing dramatically and that although boys are more likely to use e-cigarettes, the rate of use among girls is increasing more rapidly, according to the study of Irish teens, according to media reports.
The research was carried out by a team at the Tobacco-Free Research Institute Ireland (TFRI), in Dublin. The group examined data on 6,216 17-18-year-olds, including data on whether their parents smoked while they were growing up. The teenagers were asked whether they smoked or used e-cigarettes.
The study showed that teenagers whose parents smoked were around 55 percent more likely to have tried e-cigarettes and around 51 percent more likely to have tried smoking.
The team also combined several Irish data sets to provide the most comprehensive analyses of teenage e-cigarette use in Ireland, with information on more than 10,000 Irish teenagers (aged 16 to 17), to look at the overall numbers of teenagers trying or regularly using e-cigarettes and how this is changing over time.
This showed that the proportion who had tried e-cigarettes had increased from 23 percent in 2014 to 39 percent in 2019.
The main reasons teenagers gave for trying e-cigarettes were curiosity (66 percent) and because their friends were vaping (29 percent). Only 3 percent said it was to quit smoking.
The proportion who said they had never used tobacco when they first tried e-cigarettes increased from 32 percent in 2015 to 68 percent in 2019.
Brazil’s Justice Department Thursday ordered 32 businesses to stop selling e-cigarettes. They have 48 hours to comply or face a $960 fine.
Vaping products have been banned in Brazil since 2009. However vaping products are still easily available, according to reports.
One of the businesses on the list is Carrefour, the country’s largest supermarket with over 1,000 stores, according to a media report.
In July, the Brazilian National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA), voted to uphold the country’s e-cigarette brand.
A survey carried out in the first quarter of 2022 by the Vital Strategies organization and the Federal University of Pelotas, revealed that 19.7 percent of Brazilians aged between 18 and 24 have tried electronic cigarettes.
Dan Bilzerian (right), owner of the cannabis company Ignite
A cannabis company led by social-media influencer Dan Bilzerian is under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The agency issued a litigation release earlier this week, noting that it “has filed an action against Ignite International Brands, Ltd., a publicly traded company based in Ontario, Canada, seeking an order directing it to comply with an investigative subpoena for documents.”
Among other things, the SEC is investigating whether the Markham, Ont.-headquartered company violated the federal securities laws by making false or misleading statements in reporting its 2020 financial results.
The company has failed to produce requested documents, despite multiple accommodations from SEC staff, according to the release.
“The SEC is continuing its fact-finding investigation and, to date, has not concluded that any individual or entity has violated the federal securities laws,” the release adds.
The company, which sells a line of cannabis and CBD products, such as CBD-infused toothpicks, reportedly lost $67 million in 2019 and stayed afloat by raising money via debt and selling shares of the company’s stock, according to The Growth Op.
The company recently went private but was previously traded on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the ticker “BILZ.” In 2020, the company was trading for around 94 cents a share, down from a high of more than $5.
Last year, the company announced it was pulling out of the Canadian marijuana market, citing “too many barriers” to build a successful cannabis business.
“The government’s excessive restrictions of the marketing, sales and distribution of products has diminished the business opportunity while simultaneously making the consumer experience less than optimal,” Bilzerian said at the time.
During a shareholders meeting held on Aug. 24, 2022, Ignite shareholders approved a resolution to go private that was announced on July 19, 2022, and that the going private transaction has been completed, according to a press release.
Medicinal cannabis users are more prone to consume nicotine products than the general population, according to a recent study.
The study, published in the American Journal on Addictions, is among the first to examine nicotine use among patients of a medical marijuana dispensary, according to a release from Rutgers University.
“Simultaneous use of cannabis and nicotine is a growing concern, but while the relationship between recreational cannabis and nicotine use is well-established, little is known about nicotine use among users of medical cannabis,” said Mary Bridgeman, a clinical professor at Rutgers Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy.
The researchers surveyed 697 patients between ages 18 and 89 at a medical marijuana dispensary on their nicotine and cannabis use, how they self-administered the cannabis (smoked, vaped) and the medical conditions that qualified them for using therapeutic cannabis.
They found that close to 40 percent of medical marijuana users also use nicotine – sharply higher than the 14 percent of U.S. adults who smoke.
Therapeutic cannabis users who also used e-cigarettes or didn’t use nicotine at all were about four times more likely to vape, rather than smoke, cannabis than those who exclusively smoked cigarettes.
The study also found that 75 percent of the respondents smoked cannabis rather than vaped and about 80 percent of the cigarette smokers reported planning to quit in the next six months.
“These findings reveal that while medical cannabis dispensaries may recommend vaping rather than smoking cannabis due to the health concerns associated with combustible products, this recommendation alone may not influence patients who also smoke cigarettes,” said co-author Marc Steinberg, author of the study and a professor in the department of psychiatry at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
“Between the higher rates of nicotine use in those using medical cannabis, the fact that cigarette smokers opt to smoke cannabis as well and that those people also are seeking to quit using nicotine presents a strong argument that dispensaries provide tobacco control messaging at the point-of-sale to encourage cigarette smokers to quit,” Steinberg added. “The strategy also could increase the chances that a medical cannabis user would vape the product, which is a less harmful route than smoking.”
The Federal Trade Commission’s second report on e-cigarette sales and advertising across the U.S. shows sales of flavored disposable e-cigarettes and menthol e-cigarette cartridges surging dramatically in 2020.
The coincides with a federal ban on the flavored cartridges for closed systems. Regulators state that closed systems were popular with youth, so the FTC report suggests that youth e-cigarette use has shifted to disposable flavored products rather than declined.
The report also found that the distribution of free and discounted e-cigarettes reached record highs.
“This report shows that youth are still at risk from flavored or deeply discounted e-cigarettes,” said Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Marketers of e-cigarettes have proven skillful at evading FDA regulation and hooking youth on addictive products.”
The FTC has been reporting on tobacco sales annually since 1967 and smokeless tobacco sales since 1987. Last year, the agency expanded its studies of industry and published its first-ever report on e-cigarettes.
This year’s e-cigarette report covers sales and advertising data from 2019 and 2020, a period in which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration published an enforcement policy banning the sale of flavored e-cigarette cartridges other than menthol.
Overall, the report found that total e-cigarette sales, which had increased from $304.2 million in 2015 to $2.046 billion in 2018, grew to $2.703 billion in 2019, but then declined to $2.24 billion in 2020. The FTC report notes that the 2020 decline may not represent the market given major industry shifts. Key findings in the report include:
Significant shift to flavored disposable e-cigarettes: Publicly available sources indicate that the sale of disposable e-cigarettes – which are exempt from the FDA’s 2020 policy – increased substantially, with “other” flavored disposable products making up 77.6 percent of all disposables sold in December 2020. The FTC’s data did not show an increase in disposable sales. However, FTC’s data likely does not represent an accurate picture of the market for disposable e-cigarettes. Only two of the five companies submitting data for 2019-20 continued to market disposable e-cigarettes in 2020, and those that did provided more limited offerings. In order to improve the representativeness of its industry sales data for future FTC reports, the FTC recently sent orders to four additional e-cigarette companies.
Major increase in menthol cartridge sales: Similarly, the report found that the sale of the remaining non-FDA-banned flavored cartridge, menthol, increased significantly, to 63.5 percent of all cartridges sold in 2020.
Record high e-cigarette discounting: The data also reveal that price discounting for e-cigarettes reached a record high of $182.3 million in 2019, and, although it decreased slightly in 2020, such discounting still represented the largest category of ad expenditures by e-cigarette manufacturers.
Doubling of nearly free e-cigarette samples: The data collected for 2019-20 suggest that spending on the sampling and distribution of free and deeply price-discounted e-cigarettes more than doubled in just two years, making it the second-largest spending category in 2020. This occurred because, after the FDA banned tobacco product sampling in 2016 to limit youth access, some companies began offering e-cigarettes for $1 (or even less) in an apparent attempt to get around the ban.
“This report shows that partial bans on certain types of flavors for certain types of e-cigarettes are unlikely to be successful in achieving a reduction in youth addiction to nicotine via e-cigarette usage,” the FTC wrote in statement.
The Commission vote approving the FTC’s E-Cigarette Report and related data tables for 2019-20 was 5-0.
The Macau parliament approved an amendment to the law on smoking prevention and control that prohibits the manufacture, distribution, import, export and transport of vaping products in and out of the region.
The law provides for penalties of MOP4,000 ($500) for individuals, with a fine of between MOP20,000 and MOP200,000 for companies.
Although the proposal was unanimously approved, during the debate in the Legislative Assembly, several members said that the government should go further, and impose a total ban on e-cigarettes, reports Macau Business.
Leong Sun Lok expressed concern that the new legislation might increase the smuggling or sale of e-cigarettes through the Internet or lead to an increase in the number of conventional cigarette users.
The Macau Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China’s secretary for social affairs and culture confirmed that they are considering a later ban on e-cigarettes after giving “some time” to smokers who may “still have some in stock.”
Elsie Ao Ieong U also promised to review, within three years, the tax on all tobacco products, which in Macau is around 60 percent of the final price.
Ron Lam U Tou advocated increasing the tax, noting that the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends a value of 75 percent.
The only Portuguese member in the parliament, José Pereira Coutinho, warned that the legislative revision could harm tourists who are only “passing through,” namely to mainland China, where e-cigarettes are allowed.
The legislative amendment will come into force three months after it is published in the Official Bulletin of the Chinese special administrative region.
The sale, advertising and promotion of e-cigarettes have been prohibited in Macau since 2018.
The government justified the changes to the law with “the strong evidence that this type of tobacco product is harmful to health, and can endanger the safety of people,” recalling that the consumption of e-cigarettes has increased, especially among young people.
The government stressed that e-cigarettes are banned in the neighboring region of Hong Kong and Singapore, and the Taiwanese parliament is also discussing a proposed ban.
A Metro Council proposal in Nasheville, Tennessee that would ban vaping and smoking, even in 21-and-up bars, makes an exception for cigar bars. But hookah lounges and a new cannabis restaurant could be forced to change their businesses if the ordinance passes.
Anyone who works at or patronizes Alladin’s Hookah Lounge & Bar on Elliston Place in Nashville knows they will be surrounded by tobacco smoke. Bar manager Amy Abrecht says communal smoking is the whole point, according to WLPN.
Members of the Metro Council acknowledged in a hearing this month that hookah bars were an oversight. Sponsor Jeff Syracuse also said a new cannabis restaurant called Buds & Brews that offers vaping as part of the experience raised concerns.
“I don’t want to drive out of business new businesses that weren’t expecting this,” Councilmember Freddie O’Connell said at the meeting Aug. 16, when the ordinance was deferred to Sept. 20. “I don’t want to have this conflict emerge that we can’t work around.”
The problem is the Metro Council can’t simply amend the proposed ordinance. The city had to get legislation passed at the state level to be granted authority to ban smoking in 21-and-up bars. So adding an exception beyond cigar bars will take an act of the General Assembly too, which isn’t scheduled to meet again until next year.
A U.S. appeals court denied a petition to review the Food and Drug Administration’s marketing denial order (MDO) to Illinois-based e-liquid manufacturer Gripum, reports Vaping360.
Gripum submitted premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) in September 2020 for about 200 bottled e-liquid products in nontobacco flavors. The company received an MDO on Sept. 8, 2021. Gripum filed a petition for review on Oct. 8 and was granted a stay of FDA enforcement in November 2021. The company participated in oral arguments before the court on April 20.
Gripum argued that the MDO was unfairly issued because Congress and the FDA did not establish any “ascertainable standards” to determine if the company’s products are “appropriate for the protection of public health.” The company also said that the agency changed the evidentiary standard for a successful PMTA after the application deadline had passed and that the agency failed to conduct individualized PMTA reviews as required by the Tobacco Control Act.
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected all of Gripum’s arguments, finding that the FDA’s approach to resolving the application was both reasoned and consistent with the Tobacco Control Act.
Gripum’s defeat follows a successful MDO challenge by six vapor companies. On Aug. 23, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit granted petitions for review filed by Bidi Vapor, Diamond Vapor and four other companies challenging the FDA’s rejection of their e-cigarette applications.
Disposable vapes help smokers to quit combustibles but are deadly for the environment.
By Maria Verven
Cigarettes used to be the most littered things in the world.
Trillions of cigarette butts are thrown onto our streets, parks and beaches every year. The Ocean Conservancy estimates that cigarette butts account for 25 percent of the total number of garbage items collected—over twice as much as any other category. Worldwide, it’s estimated that 1.69 billion pounds of cigarette butts end up as waste each year.
While some smokers may think their butts will eventually decompose, it actually takes decades for them to degrade. Cigarette filters aren’t made of innocuous cotton; they’re made of cellulose acetate and about 12,000 nonbiodegradable plastic-based fibers.
The chemicals in a single cigarette butt can contaminate hundreds of gallons of water. They can also be dangerous, causing fatal fires that burn hundreds of acres every year.
Things have changed dramatically in the last several years as many smokers have switched to vaping, thanks in large part to the convenience of disposable e-cigarettes.
In fact, these handy-dandy devices appear to be taking over the industry since they’re the simplest and most accessible vaping devices on the market.
But in the process, we created a whole new environmental hazard that, as of yet, has no easy solution.
Popular among youth
Among all the vaping devices on the market, none are more popular than disposable electronic nicotine-delivery systems (ENDS), particularly among young people.
According to the 2021 National Youth Tobacco Survey, well over half (54 percent) of youth who reported using e-cigarettes had used disposables. The 2020 Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study corroborated this finding. It reported that 38 percent of young adults aged 18–24 versus 17 percent of older adults (over age 25) who had used any ENDS product in the past 30 days had used a disposable.
At the May 2022 Vaper Expo U.K., nearly every vendor offered some variety of disposable device. Many were new to the market that were capitalizing on the trend—as well as renowned companies such as Innokin, which launched its new Aquios Bar disposable device in 10 different flavors.
“Disposable vapes are certainly the hottest-selling item among smoke-free nicotine-delivery devices,” said Dimitris Agrafiotis, owner of Global eVapor Consulting, executive director of the Tennessee Smoke Free Association and brand ambassador and designer at Innokin Technology.
Agrafiotis said disposable vapes attract individuals who make impulse buys at various points of sale as well as new users who enjoy the convenience of a product that doesn’t require any knowledge of coils or ohms. They can purchase disposables nearly anywhere where cigarettes are sold. They can simply tear open the package and start vaping, making disposables the perfect solution for beginners.
“In my experience, vapers who quit smoking use disposable vapes part time as secondary devices when they don’t want to take their usual rig with them, such as at a nice dinner or in situations requiring them to be more discrete,” he said.
The technology behind disposables has only continued to improve over the past several years. Most vape pens can now deliver around 400 puffs before they’re no longer viable—nearly twice as many puffs as a pack of cigarettes can deliver. Some vape pens with larger batteries can even deliver as much as 5,000 puffs.
Another significant advance is the use of auto-draw switches that activate the device and heat the coil when the vaper inhales, delivering a smooth and seamless experience.
And thanks to nicotine salts, disposables offer a smoother vaping experience. While the nicotine level in most disposables is limited to 5 mg, vapers can satisfy their nicotine cravings without a harsh throat hit or any interference in the flavor experience.
Speaking of flavor, that’s another advantage disposables have over refillable vape devices. Manufacturers often add sweeteners to disposables to make the flavors pop without having to worry that the sweeteners will gunk up and ruin the device. The disposable will be tossed long before that happens.
The range of flavors available from disposables is mind-blowing. As more and more manufacturers take advantage of the growth in this market, they entice vapers with interesting and often exotic flavor profiles, such as bergamot and carambola.
While battery technology hasn’t necessarily improved dramatically, some brands have created larger internal or rechargeable batteries in their efforts to increase puff count. This is a step in the right direction to reduce battery waste.
The environmental impact
Even refillable and replaceable vape pens typically contain several metal, plastic and cotton elements, making them difficult to separate and recycle. Thus, they tend to end up as general household waste. Even the smaller replaceable coils and pods don’t often get recycled.
But disposable e-cigarettes are way worse because the vaper disposes the entire device, which is composed of plastic and metal coils as well as a battery cell. While some brands and vape stores offer recycling programs for disposables, most vapers simply toss them into the trash.
Millions of lithium-ion batteries, hard plastic and nicotine-contaminated pods are being disposed of in our landfills, creating a significant waste problem. Nicotine, including nicotine salt, is listed by the Environmental Protection Agency as an acute hazardous waste. When disposables leak battery acid and/or nicotine into the environment, they harm fish and wildlife in the process.
The Food and Drug Administration is required under the National Environmental Policy Act to evaluate all major agency actions to determine if they will have a significant impact on the human environment. If the environmental assessment identifies significant environmental effects, the FDA will prepare an environmental impact statement to help make informed decisions on the relevant environmental consequences and alternatives available.
In addition to assessing potential environmental impacts of new tobacco products during premarket review, the FDA has also posted information for consumers on proper disposal of e-cigarettes and e-liquid waste.
“While we are excited that lots of people are not inhaling combustible tobacco, we should be concerned over the environmental sustainability and proper ethics in the sale of these products,” Agrafiotis said. “In its quest to market and sell millions of these products, the industry has failed to implement any type of consumer education or recycling initiative that would help alleviate the disaster,” he said.
“The irony is that in most countries in Europe, plastic straws are banned—and yet these products continue to be dumped by the boatloads. I simply cannot see how governments will allow this to continue, especially in Europe, where environmental waste is such a huge issue,” Agrafiotis said.
“With TPD 3 approaching and countries already discussing legislative measures, I believe the days are numbered for disposables—at least as we know them right now.”
What’s the solution?
The first and most obvious answer is to encourage consumers to use rechargeable devices.
Consumers could also be encouraged to purchase refillable pod devices, vape pens with replaceable coils or even rebuildable tank atomizers, all of which are far more cost effective in the long run, not to mention more eco-friendly.
The industry has yet to find ways to encourage and/or incentivize consumers to dispose of these devices in the right manner. When Agrafiotis tried offering a financial incentive for every disposable brought back to his store, there were very few takers.
“The younger demographic that predominantly uses these products simply doesn’t seem to care,” he said. “At least the older demographic tends to quickly transition from disposables to open systems when they realize the daily costs and environmental impact.”
Agrafiotis said he’s unaware of any other outlets for collecting and recycling disposable vapes. “At this point, there’s no budget or avenue for us to try and change the existing system. Incentives and/or drop-off points for hazardous waste should have started with the construction and sale of the first disposable vaping device ever made.”
“The only thing I could do is break the plastic and remove the battery and bring it to a battery recycler, but I would still have to dispose the plastic and nicotine pod in the trash,” he said. “All brands would have to work together to start a viable recycling program, but unfortunately, I simply do not see this is possible.”
Nevertheless, Agrafiotis said Innokin is striving to reduce environmental waste in its products. Innokin was the first company to start using fully recyclable packaging for its open vapor systems, made entirely of paper with absolutely no plastic, he said.
The first disposable vaping device that can be disassembled and recycled, the Innokin Enviro uses materials with a lower carbon footprint—a reinforced paper shell—to replace the plastic shell found in most disposable vaping devices.
“We believe disposable vapes should have less impact on the environment,” Agrafiotis said. “With more efficient manufacturing processes and recyclable designs, our goal is to continually optimize Enviro and make disposable vaping greener. We can only hope demand grows for this approach and more companies follow in the same green footsteps.”
Clearly, the industry must act quickly to devise solutions before the products that help millions of smokers are carbon taxed or—even worse—removed completely from the market.
“Most of all, I hope we see more people quit smoking and transition to vaping, regardless of the device they choose to help them. Any vaping devices that can help smokers around the world make the switch is worth pursuing,” Agrafiotis said.
“Plastic casings and batteries simply should not go into our landfills after just one use,” he said. “More companies should be actively looking at sustainable solutions and proactively working with existing recycling companies to implement programs to keep these products out of our already overflowing landfills.”
The original “Vaping Vamp,” Maria Verven owns Verve Communications, a PR and marketing firm specializing in the vapor industry.
MORE ON VAPING WASTE
Garbage facts
There is an estimated 44.7 million tons of e-waste generated around the world every year. That waste contains up to $65 billion worth of raw materials like gold, silver and platinum sent to a landfill. The amount of global e-waste is expected to increase by almost 17 percent to 52.2 million tons in 2021, or about 8 percent every year, according to Cleanaway Waste Management, an Australian waste management, industrial and environmental services company.
Vaping products contain lithium-ion batteries, a heating element and a circuit board. These components—which may include plastic and heavy metals—make disposing of e-cigarettes a considerable challenge because of the various types of chemicals and materials involved in their manufacturing.
The global disposable e-cigarettes market size is expected to be valued at $6.34 billion in 2022, according to Future Market Insights (FMI). The overall demand for disposable e-cigarettes is projected to grow at a CAGR of 11.2 percent between 2022 and 2032, totaling around $18.32 billion by 2032.
“Demand for non-tobacco products is expected to augment the growth of the disposable e-cigarettes market in the near future. It has been observed that older people prefer this product as it does not have any negative effect on health,” stated an FMI analyst.
There are no direct regulations for recycling or use of e-cigarettes, heated-tobacco products (HTPs) or the cellulose acetate filters in combustible cigarettes in the EU, U.S., China and Japan. There is some legislation that regulates the management of e-waste; however, these guidelines typically apply only to cell phones, computers and other large electronic products.
According to the Global Overview of Recycling Programs for E-Cigarettes, Heated-Tobacco Products and Vaporizers Business for 2022 and Future Prospects of Electronic Devices and Consumables Development report by Research and Markets, large vaping industry players have several recycling programs and recycling targets for the near future:
Philip Morris International established two hubs in Europe and Asia that inspect, process and separate materials from electronic devices for recycling. The effective recycling rate of IQOS devices increased from 30 percent in 2018 to 40 percent in 2020. The target recycling rate is 80 percent by 2025.
BAT replaces plastic elements of vapor products with pulp-based alternatives. The share of recycled waste was 79–80 percent in 2019–2021. The target recycling rate is 95 percent by 2025.
Japan Tobacco International launched a return scheme of used devices through the recycling boxes at shops. In 2020, 67 percent of produced waste was recycled. The target for waste reduction is 20 percent by 2030.
Imperial Brands launched takeback recycling schemes for used vaping devices and pods. The recycling rate decreased from 69 percent in 2017 to 61 percent in 2021. The target recycling rate is 75 percent by 2030.
Other vape companies (Dotmod, Shanlaan, Dovpo and Vinn) launch their own recycling programs by return schemes. Innokin works on battery utilization programs.
FEELM, an atomization brand and an independent business unit of Smoore Technology Ltd., won the IF Design Award 2020 for its eco-friendly Disposable Paper E-cigarette. CCELL launched a new line of disposable vaporizers in 2021.
Recycling companies Gaiaca and TerraCycle cooperate with vape manufacturers to provide services for collecting and recycling e-waste. Some vape producers cooperate directly with recycling companies; for example, RELX cooperates with China Siyan Foundation for Poverty Alleviation.
The Bowman Company offers refill stations to fill empty vapor bottles/pods. It will help to reduce plastic usage for vapor bottle production in the future.
It is expected that the future of e-cigarette, HTP and vaporizer recycling will depend on producers’ product life cycle programs. Recycling decisions from large vaping companies to combat waste include using a combination of polylactic acid (PLA) and plastic or starch blend and plastic for the device body; using paper packaging; and making inner packaging consist of paper or paper and PLA.
A survey by Opinium on behalf of Material Focus, a not-for-profit established to help the U.K. meet its electrical reuse and recycling targets, found that 18 percent of 4,000 people surveyed in the U.K. had bought a vape device in the previous year, with 7 percent buying a single-use device.
The Opinium figures would suggest that about 168 million disposable vapes are being bought every year in the U.K. Two of the biggest brands in the country are Elf Bar and Geek Bar, which between them make up about 60 percent of the market.
More than half of people that buy single-use e-cigarettes dispose of them in a general trash bin compared to 33 percent on average for all types of vape, according to the research. While each vape contains just 0.15 g of lithium, the scale of the waste means that about 10 tons of metal is ending up in landfills. – VV staff
