Overview

• Consumers are panic-buying single-use vapes as retailers offer clearance deals in the days before the ban takes effect
• Trading Standards will issue initial £200 fines and seize illegal stock in England while devolved authorities apply similar measures in Scotland and Wales
• A Vape Shop survey reports that over 42% of adult vapers may return to smoking if disposables are outlawed and 11% fear a rise in unregulated sales
• Environmental campaigners warn that 8.2 million disposable vapes are discarded weekly in the UK and note plans for a vaping duty starting October 2026
• University College London research indicates many young people have already shifted from disposables to rechargeable and refillable vape models