A new generation of rechargeable vapes could bypass the governments impending ban on single-use devices, experts have warned.
From next July it will be illegal to sell disposable vapes such as Elf bars and Lost Mary in a bid to prevent schoolchildren getting hooked on e-cigarettes and to reduce littering.
However, campaigners fear that vapes, which are seemingly reusable, but are almost as cheap as single-use devices, could skirt the ban.
These products are marketed as rechargeables, pod or Big Puff vapes.
Scott Butler, executive director of non-profit group Material Focus, told The Times: These new vapes, which are already widely available in the UK, can be re-charged and therefore could have a long life span.
From next July it will be illegal to sell disposable vapes such as Elf bars and Lost Mary in a bid to prevent schoolchildren getting hooked on e-cigarettes and to reduce littering (file picture)
Some of the vapes found on the streets by Aberdeenshire Council who say they clear up 25,000 of the devices each month
Currently around 360 million single-use vapes are sold each year in the UK with many left littering the streets (file image)
However they are per puff on a similar price point to single-use models, a large proportion are marketed as disposable, and consumers are now used to the throwaway culture embedded with single-use vapes.
He added that they could therefore cause similar environmental challenges to disposable devices.
Currently around 360 million single-use vapes are sold each year in the UK with many left littering the streets.
This is because around nine in ten retailers are still failing to meet their obligations to recycle the devices, campaigners have claimed.
Disposable vapes have also been linked to fires in bin lorries among other places.
More than 40 tonnes of lithium, used in the batteries, was thrown out with disposable vapes in 2022 — enough to power around 5,000 electric vehicles
Rishi Sunak initially announced plans to ban disposable vapes in January but Labour did not mention the policy in its election manifesto.
Disposable vapes have also been linked to fires in bin lorries among other places (file picture)
Health Minister Andrew Gwynne told The Sun: We know disposables are the product of choice for the majority of kids vaping today. Banning them will keep them out of the hands of vulnerable young people.
Environment Minister Mary Creagh added: Single-use vapes waste precious resources and blight our towns, parks and cities.
The NHS has historically recommended vapes to help people quit smoking, which is one of the biggest causes of illness and death in the UK.
Around 76,000 people die every year from smoking-related health problems, including heart disease, strokes and cancer.
E-cigarettes are far less harmful and can help people quit smoking for good, according to the health service.
However, the nicotine-filled gadgets have seen a surge in popularity among youngsters.
One in five secondary school children now have tried vaping, according to data from the School Health Research Network, released in September 2023.
Kids as young as eight have picked up the habit, according to Trading Standards.
While it is illegal to sell them to under-18s, social media has been flooded with posts from teenagers showing coloured vapes and discussing flavours, such as strawberry ice cream, cotton candy and cherry cola.
Despite health chiefs insisting it is safer than smoking, vaping is not risk-free. E-cigarettes contain harmful toxins and their long-term effects remains a mystery.
NHS Digital data, based on the smoking, drinking and drug use among young people in England survey for the year 2021, showed 30 per cent of children in Yorkshire and the Humber have used a vape
One in five secondary school children now have tried vaping, according to data from the School Health Research Network, released in September 2023 (file picture)
Shock data earlier this year revealed a record 11.6 per cent of 11 to 17-year-olds in Britain have now tried vaping. This is up on 7.7 per cent last year and twice as high as rates seen a decade ago, before the UKs kid vaping epidemic blew up
Some doctors fear a wave of lung disease and even cancer in the coming decades due to vaping.
Experts are also concerned the high nicotine content might increase blood pressure and cause other heart problems.
Freedom of Information requests revealed that 24 children in England were hospitalised due to vaping since the start of 2022. These could include lung damage or a worsening of asthma symptoms.
A major study revealed that seven per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds who have never smoked are now vaping.
Researchers called for it to be a public health priority to prevent non-smoking children and adults from turning to vapes.
The paper, funded by Cancer Research UK, found a ban on disposable vapes would affect an estimated 2.6million adults in England, Wales and Scotland.
Lead author Dr Sarah Jackson, from University College London (UCL), said: While banning disposables might seem like a straightforward solution to reduce youth vaping, it could have substantial unintended consequences for people who smoke.
In the event of a ban, it would be important to encourage current and ex-smokers who use disposables to switch to other types of e-cigarettes rather than going back to just smoking tobacco.
Everything you need to know about e-cigarettes
How much nicotine is in an e-cigarette?
There are many different brands of e-cigarettes, containing various different nicotine levels.
The legal amount of nicotine in an e-liquid capacity in the UK is 20mg/ml equating to between 600 and 800 puffs.
The Elf Bar 600, one of Britains most popular vapes, is advertised as coming in nicotine strengths of 0mg, 10mg and 20mg.
How many cigarettes are in an e-cigarette?
The Elf Bar 600 contains the equivalent to 48 cigarettes, analysts say.
It delivers 600 puffs before it needs to be thrown away, meaning, in theory, every 12.5 puffs equate to one cigarette.
Experts say for many e-cigarettes, 100 puffs equate to ten normal cigarettes.
Elf Bars are a brand of e-cigarettes often sold in snazzy colours and with child-friendly names and flavours, like blue razz lemonade and Elfturbo Ice
Is vaping better for your health than cigarettes?
Vaping products are considered to be better than cigarettes as users are exposed to fewer toxins and at lower levels, according to the NHS.
The health service adds that vaping instead of smoking cigarettes reduces your exposure to toxins that can cause cancer, lung disease and diseases of the heart and circulation, such as strokes and heart attacks.
Public Health England, which is now defunct, published an expert independent review in 2015 concluding that e-cigarettes are around 95 per cent less harmful than cigarettes.
However vaping is not risk-free, as while levels in tobacco-products are much higher, e-cigarettes still contain harmful toxins, according to a study by researchers from the Medical University of Silesia in Poland.
And Dr Onkar Mudhar, a London dentist who posts videos on TikTok, said Elf bars can cause gum inflammation, swelling and bleeding.
He said this is because nicotine dries out your mouth and reduces saliva, causing irritation from a build-up of bacteria and food that cant get washed away.
Nearly 350 hospitalisations due to vaping were logged in England in 2022, which are thought to be mainly down to respiratory problems, such as shortness of breath, chest pain, lung inflammation and, in severe cases, respiratory failure.