Ban on disposable vapes hailed as ‘victory for children’s health’

A BAN on the use of disposable vapes across the North has been welcomed locally as a ‘victory for both children’s health and the environment’.

Last Thursday, Stormont’s Environment Minister Andrew Muir announced his intentions to align the North with UK legislation, with strong support from the public following consultation on the ban.

By April 2025, the NI Executive plans to fully ban the sale and supply of single use vapes in a bid to curb five million vapes being thrown away or littered every week across the UK.

Mr Muir said, “While timelines are extremely ambitious, my Department is working at pace to progress this piece of work.

“I also welcome the collaborative engagement between Government officials across the UK to address single-use vape issues.”

He added, “Alignment of approaches will deliver shared health and environmental benefits, and will help provide clarity for businesses which are currently selling single use vaping products.”

Welcoming the announcement, West Tyrone MLA, Nicola Brogan, said that single-use vapes were ‘extremely damaging’ to the environment.

The Sinn Féin environment spokesperson said, “The disposable nature of them means they often get discarded as litter, but even when disposed of properly, they contain certain chemicals and components that are notoriously difficult to recycle.

“As a result, they often end up in landfill where they can leach toxic chemicals into the ground.

“The affordability of them, as opposed to reusable vapes, as well as the coloured packaging and various flavours they came in also meant that they often ended up in the hands of children and young people.

“While we are still learning about the long-term effects of vaping, recent studies have linked it to numerous lung conditions, such as bronchiolitis obliterans and even some forms of cancer.”

The MLA added, “The banning of disposable vapes is a victory for both young people as well as the environment.”

Meanwhile, local councillor, Barry McElduff, has been proposing action on single-use vapes to the council for over a year, with concerns over the impact on Omagh’s streets.

Cllr McElduff said he ‘strongly welcomed’ the decision as ‘the time is right’.

He said, “Concerned residents have told me that children as young as ten have lifted vapes from the roadside to vape the remaining residue.”

Cllr McElduff added, “The time is right.

“This really is a modern-day problem, and I would call for legislative action across the North and the whole of Ireland.”