Read articles from United Kingdom

February 20, 2024 by express.co.uk

Rishi Sunak's proposal for a single-use vape ban to curb youth vaping has drawn criticism due to the ineffectiveness of similar measures in Australia. The Australian black market for vapes has boomed despite bans, leading to safety concerns. Theo Foukkare highlights the failure of prohibition and advocates for regulated sales to adults. In response, Sunak emphasizes the need to protect children from addiction and health risks. Labour's consideration of a prescription-only policy for vapes, based on Australia's approach, raises concerns about straining the NHS with additional consultations.

February 14, 2024 by vice.com

Take a stroll down London’s Oxford Street and, amongst the American Candy Shops and high-end retailers, you’re bound to find a man attempting to flog a pack of disposable vapes. Sold pretty much anywhere – from local off-licences to barber shops, nightclubs and tanning salons, the list goes on – Britain’s streets have become inundated with these brightly coloured, highly addictive sticks of plastic. It's a big problem, affecting both our health and the environment. According to data from the environmental campaign group Material Focus, approximately five million disposable vapes are discarded each week in the UK.

February 13, 2024 by standard.co.uk

The public is urged to refrain from purchasing illegal drugs due to the unknown substances they may contain, according to a statement from officials. The Welsh Emerging Drugs and Identification of Novel Substances service (Wedinos) has warned that people buying e-cigarettes laced with Spice may have thought they contained cannabis oils or liquids.

February 13, 2024 by mirror.co.uk

Smoking is the country's number one preventable killer, and millions have been ditching cigarettes for vapes. But more than 6.6million Brits continue to puff on the deadly sticks each day, in spite of a review by Public Health England that estimated e-cigarettes are 95 per cent less harmful than tobacco cigarettes. Nevertheless, the battery-powered cigs, also known as vapes, have been booming in popularity and many have managed to kick the pernicious habit because of them. The very same 2015 review found that almost all of the 2.6m adults using vapes in Great Britain were current or ex-smokers.

February 05, 2024 by dailymail.co.uk

The Government's plan to ban disposable vapes has been branded 'a big mistake' by doctors who warn the move could drive up smoking rates and even lead to a rise in gang violence. But experts warn that users may end up smoking cigarettes instead – potentially reversing years of campaigning which have led to the UK's historically low smoking rate. Many point to Australia where, despite some of the strictest anti-vaping laws in the world, the number of teens both vaping and smoking has rocketed as a flourishing black market involving organised crime gangs has made the devices easier to buy.

February 02, 2024 by qz.com

Britain's government will ban the sale of disposable vapes and limit their cornucopia of flavors to prevent children from becoming addicted to nicotine, officials said Monday. It also plans to stick to a contentious proposal to ban today’s young people from ever buying cigarettes. “You talk to any parent or teacher, they’ll talk to you about the worrying rise in vaping among children," Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told reporters. “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.”

February 02, 2024 by euronews.com

The UK has announced a ban on disposable e-cigarettes, which have become popular among teens. Which other countries are cracking down? When e-cigarettes first came to the market, they were advertised as the lesser of two evils, helping people move away from traditional cigarettes and the health risks associated with smoking. But in more recent years, vapes have become something of a trend among young people. The single-use vape - also known as a “puff bar” - is practically an accessory item, and an increasing number of teenagers can be seen donning the flashy stick. Several countries around the globe are considering banning them to curb the phenomenon.

February 02, 2024 by time.com

The U.K. government announced a plan on Monday to ban the sale of disposable vapes, in an attempt to curb the rise in vaping among children. The plan would also force companies to use plain packaging and place restrictions on flavors sold in an effort to make the products less appealing to children. It would also place restrictions on how vapes are advertised in shops. “The long-term impacts of vaping are unknown and the nicotine within them can be highly addictive, so while vaping can be a useful tool to help smokers quit, marketing vapes to children is not acceptable,” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in a statement. He stressed that adult smokers aiming to quit would still be able to access vape kits. 

February 01, 2024 by spiked-online.com

Beware a politician in search of a legacy. Rishi Sunak, in a desperate attempt to find something, anything, to point to as an achievement, has taken to banning things that this teetotal, straight-edge prime minister has probably never tried and clearly doesn’t understand. At the Conservative Party conference last year, Sunak decided that making England ‘smoke-free’ would be his chapter in history. So he announced Britain’s biggest experiment in prohibition for generations: a phased-in ban on tobacco products that will mean today’s 15-year-olds will never legally be able to buy cigarettes.

February 01, 2024 by spiked-online.com

Beware a politician in search of a legacy. Rishi Sunak, in a desperate attempt to find something, anything, to point to as an achievement, has taken to banning things that this teetotal, straight-edge prime minister has probably never tried and clearly doesn’t understand. At the Conservative Party conference last year, Sunak decided that making England ‘smoke-free’ would be his chapter in history. So he announced Britain’s biggest experiment in prohibition for generations: a phased-in ban on tobacco products that will mean today’s 15-year-olds will never legally be able to buy cigarettes.