Tag: Wales

  • Welsh Lawmakers Back Ban on Disposable Vapes

    Welsh Lawmakers Back Ban on Disposable Vapes

    Credit: Iama Sing

    The Welsh government has backed a ban on the sale of disposable vapes in Wales from next June.

    Deputy First Minister Huw Irranca-Davies said the move was a “major step forward in tackling throwaway culture and the environmental impacts of single-use vapes.”

    He said the Welsh government was working closely with ministers in all the UK nations to implement the ban simultaneously, reports the BBC.

    No single-use vapes can be sold or given away for free after June 1, 2025.

    The Welsh government is urging businesses to speak to their suppliers about ordering alternatives, start educating their staff, and inform customers.

    Businesses will also have to organize the eventual safe disposal of single-use vapes for their customers.

    The Welsh government announced the ban in October after the UK government said it would stop the sale of disposable vapes in England from June 2025.

    The Scottish government initially planned to introduce the ban in April but delayed it by two months to comply with England and Wales’ schedule.

    There have been fears the appeal of vaping had spread to non-smokers in the UK.

    Scientists estimated the number of adults in England to have started vaping despite never having been regular smokers had reached one million in October this year.

    There were also concerns a ban could fuel an already growing black market of illegal vapes, which can have higher nicotine content.

  • Wales: Lawmakers Call for Ban on Single-Use Vapes

    Wales: Lawmakers Call for Ban on Single-Use Vapes

    wales
    Credit: Jeffery

    The Welsh government is calling for a ban on disposable single-use vapes, according to media reports. The move would be “part of a suite of measures to address youth vaping”, Welsh ministers said.

    The Welsh government does not have the power to prohibit the vapes, but is calling on the UK government to do so. The UK Vaping Industry Association said banning disposable vapes was “not the answer” and instead called for action against retailers who sold the products to under-18s.

    Calls for a ban have been supported by the wildlife charity RSPCA Cymru, which says discarded vapes contain materials and poisonous substances including plastic, lithium and nicotine, which are all hazardous to animals.

    Wales joins lawmakers in Scotland and England in calling for a ban on disposable vaping products.

    The UK Vaping Industry Association’s director general, John Dunne, said banning the products could lead to black markets and increased smoking rates, leaving more people at risk.

    “We’ve always acknowledged that the issues of youth vaping and environmental impact of vapes need to be tackled,” he said. “However, it is clear that significantly increased enforcement is required against retailers who sell to minors.”

  • U.K. Study to Offer Free E-Cigs to Homeless Smokers

    U.K. Study to Offer Free E-Cigs to Homeless Smokers

    A new study being conducted in the U.K. will offer homeless people free e-cigarette starter packs. The trial is aimed at helping them quit smoking. An estimated 70 percent of homeless people smoke combustible cigarettes, according to research from University of East Anglia (UEA).

    homeless man smoking
    Credit: Mat Hayward

    Homeless centers in five parts of the UK including London, Scotland and Wales will provide 480 contributors with starter kits or care group sessions, according to the BBC. The study will assess if e-cigarettes help participants quit smoking and whether it offers them value for money.

    Half of the contributors will be offered the e-cigarettes, while the other 240 people will be allocated to a care group. The project is being led by London South Bank University (LSBU) and University College London. Lynne Dawkins, a professor with LSBU, said that in an earlier trial the kits “worked well” and staff at homeless centers were able to support the study.

    The £1.7m project has been funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and is in collaboration with UEA, Kings College London, Queen Mary University of London, the University of York, Cardiff University, the University of Stirling and the University of Edinburgh. Caitlin Notley, a professor with UEA, said studies suggested e-cigarettes were “more helpful” than nicotine gum or patches when people tried to stop smoking.

    “If we find that providing free e-cigarette starter kits helps people to quit, homeless centers could decide to adopt this approach in future, to help reduce the impact of smoking-related diseases on the homeless,” she said.

  • Wales Teens Vape Less, Smoke More Cigarettes

    Wales Teens Vape Less, Smoke More Cigarettes

    E-cigarette use among young people has fallen for the first time in Wales, according to research by Cardiff University.

    But the decline in 11 to 16-year-olds smoking has stalled, the study found.

    The 2019 Student Health and Wellbeing Survey asked more than 100,000 pupils from 198 secondary schools across Wales about their smoking habits. The findings show 22 percent of young people had tried an e-cigarette, down from 25 percent in 2017, according to the BBC.

    Those vaping weekly or more often had also declined from 3.3 percent to 2.5 percent over the same period. Experimenting with vaping is still more popular than trying tobacco (11 percent), according to the data.

    But the long-term decline in those regularly smoking had stalled, with 4 percent of those surveyed smoking at least weekly in 2019, the same level as in 2013. Young people from poorer backgrounds were still more likely to start smoking than those from richer families, according to the findings.