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Shop owner forced to ditch vape stock as ban begins

Kayleigh Barker
BBC News, Wiltshire
Ban could leave Wiltshire retailers out of pocket

A vape shop owner says he will be forced to bin more than 1,000 disposable vapes ahead of the ban this weekend.

The new government rules make the sale and supply of single use and disposable vapes illegal from 1 June. Aref Bareqzia owns Smok Vape City in Chippenham, Wiltshire, where disposable vapes make up the majority of his store.

He said the upcoming ban will have a detrimental impact on his business adding: "I'm losing money, the business is losing money. This whole year's profit is gone."

The ban was introduced to tackle their impact on the environment with disposable and single use vapes defined as being non refillable and use a battery which cannot be recharged.

PA Media Disposable vapes are on display in a glass cabinet across two shelves. They are all different colours: pink, green, purple, yellow, blue, orange, red and white. On top of the glass cabinet are sweets. On the left are tubes of millions in orange and pink packaging and on the right are four boxes of lollipops. Some are bubble-gum pink whilst others are blue, green and red.PA Media
The ban was announced by the government in January last year

It is also hoped the move will help cut the number of children and young people vaping.

Mr Bareqzia said he understands the reason for the ban but added that it does not make things easier: "I have nearly 1,000 (disposable vapes), maybe even 1,500."

"I'm going to be struggling for a long time to be honest."

Retailers caught breaking the law in England face a minimum £200 fine, with a prison sentence of up to two years for repeat offences. Penalties are broadly similar in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Trading Standards will be able to seize any single-use vapes they find.

The store front of Smok Vape City in Chippenham. There is a big glass front with vapes on display. A bright green sign sits above the glass screen with the shops name and number on it. To the left, there is another green sign which lists the vape liquids which are sold.
Smok Vape City primarily stocks disposable vapes

The government said the ban is part of a crackdown on littering, calling them an "inefficient use of critical resources" that "causes harm to biodiversity".

Last year, Material Focus estimated that almost five million single-use vapes were either littered or thrown away in general waste every week in the UK.

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