UK plans to ban disposable vapes while offering related products to help smokers quit

Although the UK government is planning to ban disposable vaping devices, disposable vaping devices may still be provided to smokers to help them quit.

According to inews on September 17, UK ministers are finalizing plans to ban disposable vaping devices. However, despite the government’s plan to prohibit such products, disposable vaping devices may still be offered to smokers as a smoking cessation aid. 

Health Minister Neil O'Brien announced as early as April this year that, under the plan to make the country “smoke-free” by 2030, the UK would provide free vaping kits to one in five smokers to help them quit. 

The national program will initially run for two years, with local “swap to stop” pilot schemes to be established in Bath, Southampton, Sheffield, and Plymouth. 

Sources said that later this year, local authorities will be invited to participate in the program and encouraged to consider the environmental impact of products when ordering vaping kits. However, they insisted that authorities must remain free to choose vaping products in order to maximize people’s chances of quitting smoking, and suggested this could include disposable vaping devices. 

The government will invite vaping retailers to bid to launch the scheme, which also includes a £25 million contract with NHS England to introduce digital tobacco treatment services.