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Richard Winch

‘Strawberry Raspberry Cherry’ or ‘Blue Razz Lemonade’?

Five million single-use vapes (or e-cigarettes) are being thrown away in the UK every week, a fourfold increase since 2022. This amounts to eight vapes a second. Inside each vape is a lithium-ion battery - one of the key raw materials for the transition to renewable energy. In fact the amount of lithium discarded annually is enough to create 5,000 electric car batteries.



Lithium-ion batteries used in e-cigarettes and vaping devices can overheat and explode causing fires. Disposable vapes are behind a dramatic rise in fires at recycling plants over the last year, raising the risk of a major blaze releasing toxic fumes and associated air pollution.


You have to go to a small electrical recycling centre to dispose of the vapes so it’s not surprising that only 17% of people say they recycle single-use vapes, with 73% thrown away and 1% flushed down the toilet! This all means that local authorities are being burdened with the major operational and financial issues associated with managing one of the fastest growing and most dangerous waste streams in the UK.


Vapes were originally introduced to help people reduce or quit smoking. However, it’s pretty clear that we are allowing an industry to develop which is having a significant impact on the smoking habits of teenagers. There are increasing reports about the addiction and serious health implications for young smokers of e-cigarettes. ‘Strawberry Raspberry Cherry’ or ‘Blue Razz Lemonade’ - these are some of the more popular flavours that are available and it’s clear who they are targeted at.


It is now often quoted that “single-use vapes are a strong contender for being the most environmentally wasteful, damaging and dangerous consumer product ever made”.


Britain is lagging behind the rest of the world in addressing the issue though the UK government is currently consulting on a possible ban. Germany, Australia and New Zealand have banned all flavoured e-cigarettes. Earlier this year, France also announced it is planning to ban all disposable e-cigarettes.


Once we have millions of people hooked on vaping it will be much harder to regulate. There seems to be very strong health and environmental reasons to stop this problem getting completely out of control and ban all single use vapes.

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