Scotland disposable vape ban delayed to bring it in line with UK

A ban on selling single-use vapes in Scotland has been postponed by two months to fall in line with the rest of the UK.

New legislation at Westminster will ban the devices from 1 June next year.

The Scottish Parliament had already passed regulations bringing the ban into force on 1 April.

But Scottish Health Secretary Neil Gray announced that Holyrood would now amend the date.

Separate legislation had previously been introduced by each UK nation on banning the sale and supply of single-use vapes.

"The Scottish government was the first in the UK to commit to taking action on single-use vapes," Gray said.

"We have worked closely across the four nations to ensure a consistent approach to a ban on the sale and supply of single-use vapes so we can provide certainty to businesses and consumers."

A Scottish government report last year found that 22% of all under-18s - around 78,000 - were believed to have used a vape in the previous year, with more young people using them than smoking cigarettes.

The UK legislation appears to not offer a grace period to businesses, with retailers having to sell their stock of disposable vapes before the deadline.

However, vaping industry leaders have warned the move could fuel a rise in illegal sales of the products.

UK circular economy minister Mary Creagh said single-use vapes were "extremely wasteful and blight our towns and cities".

She added: "That is why we are banning single-use vapes as we end this nation's throwaway culture.

"This is the first step on the road to a circular economy, where we use resources for longer, reduce waste, accelerate the path to net-zero and create thousands of jobs across the country."

Disposable vapes - often priced at about £5 - are usually cheaper upfront than many refillable vape kits - often priced at about £8 to £12 - and can be bought from non-specialist retailers.

But the long-term costs associated with refillable kits are lower than for disposables.

Ireland and Belgium have recently outlined plans to ban the products, while countries including New Zealand, Australia, South Korea, India and Brazil already have restrictions in place.

The measure is separate from government plans to end smoking by banning the sale of cigarettes to anyone born after January 2009.

A bill to enact that ban is expected be introduced to parliament before Christmas.