ELFBAR responds to UK local councils' call to ban disposables next year

Multiple UK media reports indicate that local councils in England and Wales have stated that disposable e-cigarettes cause environmental pollution and fire hazards, and they are too appealing to minors. Approximately 1.3 million disposable e-cigarettes are discarded each week, and they hope to fully ban disposable e-cigarettes by 2024. According to analysis, the discussion around a complete ban on disposable e-cigarettes is primarily based on the environmental pollution they cause. Currently, many supply chain companies, brands, and retailers are pushing to establish recycling systems, indicating that there is potential for change.
It is worth noting that reports have again mentioned ELFBAR and LOST MARY, indicating that these two major brands accounted for more than half of the nearly 300 million e-cigarettes sold in the UK last year, with sales increasing more than fourfold compared to the previous year, holding a significant position in the UK market.
ELFBAR has provided an official response regarding this event, stating that they are in discussions with local authorities to address issues such as preventing youth vaping, recycling of vaping products, and providing vaping products for the UK’s free vaping program ‘Swap to Stop’ to assist the government in achieving its smoke-free goals. ELFBAR is developing a comprehensive plan, including the "Lighthouse Guardian" program, to safeguard and protect children.
Below is the original English response:
We are happy to work with the LGA and indeed are in discussions with a number of local authorities to address instances of youth vaping, the recycling of vaping products, the provision of vaping products in ‘Swap to Stop’ schemes to help meet the Government smoke-free ambitions and to address the issue of illicit vaping products. We are developing a comprehensive program across all of these areas including our Lighthouse Guardian program to safeguard and protect children.
Simply calling for a ban on single-use vapes will do nothing to tackle these issues. The illicit market will simply fill the void with products that are unlicensed and unregulated containing substances that potentially pose a health risk. It is noticeable that leading public health groups, including ASH, are not calling for such prohibitive measures.
Vaping remains critical to moving smokers off tobacco products and to achieving the Government’s and councils’ smoke-free ambitions. Research also clearly shows that single-use vapes are the preferred choice for smokers to begin their smoke-free journey. This call will do nothing to help these ambitions and, if enacted, would keep smokers addicted to tobacco for far longer than they need to be.