VAPORIZED

U.K. to Ban Disposable Vapes in Bid to Keep Them Out of Kids’ Hands

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s administration is seeking to curb what he called an “alarming rise” in youth vaping.

The U.K. government has announced its intention to ban the sale of disposable vapes as part of a broader legislative package aimed at curbing an “alarming rise” in youth vaping. The package, introduced on Monday by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, would also allow the government to regulate flavors, as well as how cartridges are packaged and displayed in shops. “You talk to any parent or teacher, they’ll talk to you about the worrying rise in vaping among children,” Sunak told reporters, according to the Associated Press. “Children shouldn’t be vaping, we don’t want them to get addicted. We still don’t understand the full long-term health impacts of vaping. So it is right we take strong action to stamp this out.” The measures, which have yet to be approved by Parliament, could potentially be packaged alongside previously announced legislation to permanently prohibit the sale of tobacco to anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 2009. Sunak’s administration has repeatedly reinforced its commitment “to [bringing] about the first smokefree generation” before the issue becomes “endemic,” as he put it on Monday.