The UK-wide ban on the sale of disposable vapes will prove inadequate in reducing both youth vaping and e-waste problem owing to the wide presence of low-cost, bright colored refillable legal devices, experts have warned.
From Sunday (June 1), it is illegal for businesses to sell or supply vapes that cannot be refilled with vape liquid or do not have rechargeable batteries.
However, popular disposable brands such as Elf Bar, Lost Mary and Geek Bar have all created near-identical reusable versions of their products that will continue to be legal, undermining the whole motive of the ban.
As pointed out by Harry Tattan-Birch, an expert on nicotine products at UCL, the devices which are considered legal have the same features that made disposable vapes appealing to youth- low cost, convenience of using it right out the pack, bright coloured designs, extensive advertising, and widespread availability in shops.
“Those who would have vaped disposables can simply swap over to the reusable version of the device they were using," Financial Times quoted Tattan-Birch as saying.
Supreme, a leading UK e-cigarette manufacturer, said it does not anticipate any fall in sales owing to the ban on disposable vapes.
“I don’t think [youth] uptake will change as it is basically the same product. Consumer habits will just change over to the new systems,” chief executive Sandy Chadha told the Financial Times, adding that the company does not expect a decline in sales from the ban.
Retailer Priyesh Vekaria, who owns and runs One Stop store in Manchester, recently revealed to Asian Trader how the market is already flooded with similar looking, equally attractive devices which would be considered legal after the ban.
"It looks like makers are simply tweaking the present disposable vapes and adding a refill pod and charging mechanism. However, the look, feel and prices, they all remain very similar," he stated.
Experts are also pointing out that when the devices are of similar price range and also look the same, users are expected to continue with their habit of treating the vapes as disposable and rather reusing the vapes when they can easily buy another one.
