A ban on disposable vapes will come into force on Saturday with the aim of protecting young people’s health.
Some retailers are currently selling them off at bargain prices before the ban comes in.
‘There has been an increase in youth vaping related to the use of disposable vapes,’ said Dr Nicola Brink, director of Public Health.
‘They are colourful, flavoured and easy to use, and can lead to the development of addiction. Disposable vapes contain nicotine, high levels of nicotine, and people can suffer with addiction and withdrawal symptoms because of it. People who use them tend to use them a lot, and this can cause lung irritation, and a concern is that we simply don’t know the long-term effects.’
Dr Brink also cited environmental impacts and fire and safety risks as concerns surrounding disposable vapes. They should be carefully recycled but more often than not have been dumped with household rubbish, where they have a fire risk due to the battery within.
In May 2024, the States passed new legislation that included a ban on the colourful and flavoured single use vapes, in response to growing concerns about the use of vapes among children, and the targeted marketing of vaping products to young people.
From 1 June 2025, the sale and supply of vapes to anyone under the age of 18 became illegal.
From 31 March this year, the advertising and display of vapes will be banned.
‘The ban comes with a suite of other regulations, we had a ban on the sale of vapes to under 18s last year, as we had reports of children as young as 10 getting hold of them. Refillable vapes are not as easy to use, you have to think about it more, so that’s why we have done a ban on disposable vapes, and then education around vapes as well,’ said Dr Brink.
The States has worked with retailers and ports to enforce the ban. ‘We’ve looked at it from two perspectives, we have worked with the retailers in the industry so they stop importing them, and our colleagues at customs,’ said Tobin Cook, director of Environmental Health and Pollution Regulation.
‘They will be able to intercept parcels that are labelled accordingly and they do random stop checks for people coming in. There will be signage up at ports and dedicated disposable bins before passing through customs.’
A formal licensing scheme for vape sellers, similar to that for tobacco products, will also come into effect on 31 March.
Health & Social Care Committee president Deputy George Oswald, added: ‘While vapes can be a useful tool to help adults give up smoking, their targeted marketing to children through packaging and flavouring of products is concerning. We hope that implementing these regulatory measures marks a major step in reducing their visibility and availability to children.’
Retailers relaxed over incoming ban
Vape retailers welcome the incoming disposable vape ban coming into force on Saturday.
The colourful, flavoured single-use vapes will no longer be available to buy in Guernsey and it will be illegal to import them by post or on your person through the ports, along with a range of other measures such as a licensing scheme for vape sellers and a ban on the advertising and display of vapes.
‘For disposable vapes we only stock two types of vapes because of the environmental impacts, so it won’t really affect our business,’ said Sophie Dorfner, the VapeBar.
‘We push people to the refillable vapes as you can drop your nicotine level over time to vape juice with 0mg of nicotine which we stock for people looking to quit vaping. Disposable vapes have 20mg of nicotine which is the highest level and people often use them in one day.’
One of the main public health concerns is that younger people would use this type because they are easy to use and colourful and come in a variety of appealing flavours. Ms Dorfner said that they were predominantly bought by people in their twenties.
‘People buy them for convenience, but a lot of people buy them for a night out so they don’t have to take their vape and risk losing it,’ she said.
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