UK Disposable Vape Ban Begins June 1

In just a few days, legal disposable vapes will be a thing of the past in the United Kingdom. Beginning June 1, sales of vape devices that are not both rechargeable and refillable will be outlawed.

The ban was announced last October, and justified mostly on environmental grounds, although politicians who support it also believe it will reduce youth vaping, which they think is a crisis.

The disposable vape ban will occur simultaneously in all four UK states—England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland—and the rules are the same in all four:

• Vape devices must be both rechargeable and refillable
• Pod- or cartridge-based vapes that use pre-filled and disposable pods are allowed, as long as replacement pods are available and sold separately
• Devices that are refilled with bottled e-liquid must either have replaceable coils or pods that are available and sold separately
• Batteries need not be replaceable, as long as they are rechargeable

The law does not prohibit possession or use by individuals, but punishes retailers, wholesalers and importers who “sell, offer to sell or have in your possession to sell a single-use vape.” 

Has the UK allotted enough enforcement resources to combat a black market?

Depending on location, the law may be enforced by local authorities, or by the Border Force, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), Office of Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), or Trading Standards.

In England—by far the largest UK vape market—Trading Standards will be largely responsible for inspections of retail and wholesale businesses, including investigating underage sales. Experts say the agency does not have the resources to prevent a thriving black market from taking hold in the wake of the ban.

According to a 2024 analysis commissioned by the Association of Convenience Stores, Trading Standards in England will be allocated an additional £10 million (about $13.4 million) to enforce the new vaping rules. The extra financial boost will fund just 80 additional apprentice enforcement officers, to be divided among 136 local Trading Standards offices in England.

The Chartered Trading Standards Institute estimates that perhaps one in three vaping products sold now in the UK is illegal. Between 2022 and 2024, Trading Standards officers in England seized more than six million illegal vapes (counterfeit and non-compliant products), according to the BBC. 

After June 1, the enforcement workload is likely to increase significantly, without a sufficient corresponding increase in manpower. 

Will smoking rates climb after the disposable vape ban?

A significant number of disposable vape users in the UK have indicated a willingness to use black market products, rather than switching to refillable products. This is likely especially true among users under 18, who are already accustomed to finding vapes through illicit means, and may have no experience with traditional refillable devices.

A poll conducted by online vape retailer Evapo, reported in Clearing the Air, indicates 61 percent of disposable vape consumers would consider buying illicit disposables if they are readily available after the ban takes effect.

A worse outcome is also possible: a return to smoking.

A 2024 report from the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs found that 29 percent of vapers would revert to smoking, according to The Guardian. 

Research by a group of University College London authors suggests the same, especially among groups that already smoke at high rates.

“The ban would affect one in 20 adults in Great Britain (~2.6 million people) and have a disproportionate impact on disadvantaged groups that have higher rates of smoking and typically find it harder to quit,” they write. “Disposable vapes also have an advantage over other models because of their ease of use, which might make them more appealing to people who smoke and have disabilities or mental health conditions.”

It may take some time before we have a solid picture of what will happen after disposable vapes are banned. Users are currently buying up disposables, according to the Scarborough News. With retailers cutting prices to avoid being stuck with unsellable product after the ban, vapers are taking advantage of bargains.

The paper reports that research by online nicotine pouch retailer the Haypp Group shows 82 percent of current disposable vape consumers are planning to stockpile products before the ban, with 28 percent indicating they’ll buy at least a six-month supply.