The Banning of Disposable Vapes: Why the Government Should Wage a War on Vaping  

By Sanaa Neunie-Buchanan 

This October the government announced plans to ban disposable vapes starting next June [1]. Whilst I’ve never been tempted to buy one myself, I think that now is the time for a cultural shift away from vaping. The following reasons are why I believe the government should be waging a war on vaping. 

1. Vogues are cooler than vapes!  

Firstly, I would like to point out that both smoking and vaping are incredibly detrimental to your health. However, I trust that this is a safe space to make the argument that unlike vaping, smoking at least has allure. Arguably, a cigarette is an accessory, especially when compared to the awkwardness of a vape. Nobody has ever fancied someone more because they vape. Cigarettes help create an image. Audery Hepburn’s iconic look is not so iconic if you replace her cigarette holder with a watermelon ice lost Mary. Banning disposable vapes will hopefully go a long way to help stigmatize vaping and get the message across once and for all that vaping is not only unhealthy, but distinctly uncool. 

2. You’re Not a Tween!  

The marketability of disposable vapes to children has led to the jarring trend of 12-year-old vapers. The appeal of vaping to young people was even listed as a reason for the ban on disposable vapes, with 69% of vapers being aged 11-17 [2,3]. This backs up my last point, that taking up a hobby popular amongst pre- teens is objectively embarrassing. I, like many, am tired of living in a world where taking a bus at 3pm means dodging the vape clouds of adolescents. A ban on disposable vapes will undoubtedly curb the obsession of students vaping at the back of their maths class. It is safe to say that vapes have become nothing but an easier to hide, cheaper and more accessible alternative to smoking. 

3. Clearing the air 

Hopefully, the ban on disposable vapes will help stigmatize vaping indoors. If someone were to light a cigarette inside a pub, a club or a lecture hall they would be kicked out immediately and judged harshly. It makes no sense to me why vaping indoors has absolutely no stigma surrounding it. The idea that it may not be desirable for every indoor space to have the lingering smell of strawberry ice has not yet entered the minds of the masses of vapers among us. Even aeroplane announcements are forced to explain that the smoking ban on flights does in fact extend to vapes. As though it hadn’t occurred to anyone that hundreds of passengers would prefer not to hotbox blue razz ice.  

The accessibility of vapes in any indoor space is its vice. Many of us have heard stories of vape-addicted friends waking up at night just for a hit. The ability to vape indoors, in class and in bed makes it all consuming. The most troubling thing about indoor vape culture is the demise of the smoking area. The ease of vaping indoors is killing the communality of social smoking. Gone are the days of asking for a lighter or sharing an entire 20 pack of cigarettes in one night; even casual smoking is becoming a thing of the past. Vaping is constant, all-consuming, and if we are honest- lonely.  

4. The Environment  

Like cigarettes, disposable vapes are harmful to the environment. Improper disposal can lead to toxic materials leaking into the ecosystem, even though their components could be re-purposed for more sustainable devices, such as electric car batteries and wind turbines [4]. 

Will this ban work? 

While it’s a step in the right direction, it’s easy to be sceptical about these new measures, as bans are often ineffective. This is especially true for vape bans. During my trip to New York last summer, I was completely unaware flavoured vapes had been banned in the state since 2020 [5]. This was something that seemed to have absolutely no impact on my American cousin when I joined her on her weekly trip to the bodega to purchase a flavoured vape.  

Hopefully, this ban will inspire a cultural shift. The rise of vaping appears to have undermined the successful global efforts to phase out smoking. Vaping has now become more popular than smoking [6]. With the introduction of these new measures vaping can finally return to its original intention which is to help adult smokers to quit [7]. I look forward to a future where vapes are kept behind pharmacy counters, accessible only through a doctor’s prescription, and no longer abused as they are today. 

IMPORTANT : The Gown does not promote or recommend the underage use of cigarettes and/or vapes.

Sources:

[1] Cooney, C. (2024). Disposable vapes to be banned from June, says government. BBC News. [online] 24 Oct. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd7n3zyp114o. 

[2] Ford, D. (2024). Government crackdown on single-use vapes. [online] GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-crackdown-on-single-use-vapes. 

[3] Department for Education (2024). Disposable vape ban and what it means for young people – The Education Hub. [online] educationhub.blog.gov.uk. Available at: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2024/01/29/disposable-vape-ban-and-what-it-means-for-young-people/. 

[4] Hand, J. (2023). How dangerous is vaping – and why the concern over young vapers? BBC News. [online] 12 Sep. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-66784967. 

[5] health.ny.gov. (2020). New York State Department of Health Announces Statewide Ban of Flavored Nicotine Vapor Products Takes Effect Today. [online] Available at: https://health.ny.gov/press/releases/2020/2020-05-18_fl_nicotine_vapor_products_ban.htm. 

[6] ASH (2023). Summary of key findings Use of e-cigarettes (vapes) among young people in Great Britain. [online] Available at: https://ash.org.uk/uploads/Use-of-vapes-among-young-people-GB-2023-v2.pdf. 

[7] NHS (2022). Using e-cigarettes to Stop Smoking – Quit Smoking. [online] NHS. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/quit-smoking/using-e-cigarettes-to-stop-smoking/.