We welcome the decision by the UK and Scottish governments to introduce new legislation to create a complete ban on disposable vapes.
The council also supports new measures which will be aimed at restricting the packaging and range of vape flavours, how they are displayed in shops, and sales of other nicotine products and non-nicotine containing vapes.
Our Trading Standards Officers operate a zero-tolerance approach to retailers selling age restricted products to children, and this will continue as officers undertake the new enforcement measures when they are implemented.
A recent test purchasing operation saw seven sales of vapes to volunteers under the age of 18 years, including two retailers who illegally sold vapes to children for the third time.
As a result of this action, a 24-month banning order has been obtained against a Motherwell business, Risham Chaudhary Ltd, which sold nicotine vapes to children on three separate occasions between May 2022 and September 2023.
The business and its employees are banned from carrying on a tobacco or nicotine vapour product business for a 24-month period from 16 January 2024. A notice must be displayed in the premises for the duration of the ban and the business was ordered to pay the council £315 in costs.
“The decision to ban disposable vapes will be welcome by parents, councils and health services who have been worried about the huge increase in children using these products,” said Councillor Helen Loughran, Convener of the Environment and Climate Change Committee.
“While vaping can help adults to stop smoking, the low cost, colourful packaging and flavours of disposable vapes has encouraged children to use them, with potentially damaging impacts on their health.
“The environmental damage caused by vaping litter and the difficulties in disposing of the vapes safely have also caused significant problems for councils everywhere.”
The ban on disposable vapes has been announced as a result of the UK-wide ‘Creating a Smokefree Generation and Tackling Youth Vaping’ consultation which showed 73.4% of Scottish respondents were in favour of an outright ban. Legislation is also planned to raise the tobacco age of sale so that no one born on or after 1 January 2009 can ever legally be sold tobacco.