UK Call to Ban Disposable Vapes as Environmental Threat
Campaigner lobbies government to ban disposable vapes as a threat to the environment. Smith A. September 23, 2022, “Environmentalist Tony Harwood from Maidstone has launched a petition calling on the government to ban the sale of disposable vapes…. He said: “I’ve been doing litter picks for years, but recently there has just been a mega-increase in the number of discarded vapes, especially after a Friday or Saturday night.
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/vapers-are-destroying-our-wildlife-and-our-environment-273819/
Vaping has become a part of going out for many youngsters. Virtually everyone in the pubs and clubs now seems to be sucking on a disposable vape – the revelers, the staff, and the DJs.
A recent survey commissioned by Material Focus, the not-for-profit group behind the Recycle Your Electricals campaign, found that 18% of people had bought a vape in the previous year, with 7% buying a single-use device. The research suggested that about 168 million disposable vapes are being bought in the UK each year, which means that around 10 tons of the lithium used in batteries for these vapes end up in landfills.” Lithium batteries contain potentially toxic materials, including other metals and chemicals, and have resulted in landfill fires. Besides lithium, disposable e-cigarettes are made of non-degradable plastic, polluting the environment.
Comment: Importantly, many youngsters don’t understand that these e-cigarettes are not safe because of the known damage to the adolescent brain and their highly addictive nature.
Stephen Hamann
