A UK-wide ban on the sale of single-use e-cigarettes coming into force on Sunday will be inadequate to prevent young people vaping or significantly reduce the dangerous e-waste created by the devices, experts warn.
From Sunday it will be 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.
“These products 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,” said Harry Tattan-Birch, an expert on nicotine products at UCL.
“Those who would have vaped disposables can simply swap over to the reusable version of the device they were using.”
Initially championed as a smoking cessation aid, many countries are tightening their regulation of e-cigarettes, whose brightly coloured packaging and sugary flavours appeal to children and young people.
Research suggests that vaping is less harmful than smoking but nicotine usage in young people has been associated with mood and attention disorders.
It is illegal to sell nicotine vaping products to anyone under the age of 18 in the UK.
The devices also produce e-waste such as LED lights, plastic casings and lithium batteries, which can cause fires when put in regular bin collections. The UK disposes of over 1mn vapes per day, according to recycling non-profit Material Focus.
A study by YouGov, published on Saturday, showed that disposable vape use has been falling ahead of the ban coming into force, especially among 18-to-24-year-olds.
Forty per cent of vapers in that age group mainly used disposables in 2025, down from 52 per cent a year earlier, according to the survey of 13,300 people.
However, overall vaping rates have continued to increase, according to separate data from the Smoking Toolkit Study.
Supreme, a leading UK e-cigarette manufacturer, said it had already seen its consumers transition to reusable 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 Cadha told the Financial Times, adding that the company does not expect a decline in sales from the ban.
Tobacco company Philip Morris International (PMI) said in its first-quarter earnings call that European sales of its Veev range of rechargeable vapes had grown strongly “partially at the expense of disposables given increased bans and restrictions for this format” across the continent.
Elf Bar and Lost Mary said they welcomed proportionate regulation including proposals for a levy on vapes, licensing for retailers and take-back schemes to encourage recycling, adding that reusable vapes must be easy to use and accessible to prevent users from returning to cigarettes following the ban.
PMI said it did not comment on the impact of regulations until after they have taken effect. Geek Bar did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Vapes have experienced a surge in popularity since 2021 fuelled by the introduction of low-cost, Chinese-made brands which offer dozens of flavours such as “kiwi passion fruit” and “triple melon”.
Last year, the UK market was worth £1.7bn, according to Euromonitor and one in eight British adults vape, HM Revenue & Customs-commissioned data shows.
Hazel Cheeseman, chief executive of health charity ASH, said reusable models are so cheap that consumers may still treat the products as disposable. “They look the same. The price point is the same. It’s a risk.” Some “pre-filled” kits start at £5.99.
The ban could also fuel the illicit sale of disposable devices, noted Clive Black, analyst at Shore Capital.
“A lot [of the market] is unregulated so one of the problems down the line will be the black market,” he said, adding: “It is naive to think that young people won’t be able to get hold of [vapes] . . . they will.”
Belgium introduced a ban on disposable vapes in January, the first EU country to do so, but it was flouted by eight in 10 vape sellers in Brussels, a government investigation found.
Online nicotine retailer Haypp said 82 per cent of disposable vape users it surveyed are planning to stockpile the devices. It was advertising a “May Madness” deal to offload disposables for £1 ahead of the ban coming into force.
Cheeseman said the tobacco and vapes bill should be pushed through faster, noting that the secondary legislation required to enforce the rules would take even longer to prepare.
The bill, currently at the committee stage, is designed to bolster the government’s powers to clamp down on the market.
“It is now more than four years after teen vaping started to increase — the public might rightly wonder what is taking so long,” she said.
Additional reporting by Marianna Guisti
