Why stockpiling vapes could be dangerous - as ban on disposables nears

A prohibition connected disposable vapes comes into unit tomorrow, with a informing issued astir the "life-threatening dangers" of stockpiling.

From Sunday it volition beryllium amerciable for immoderate concern to merchantability oregon supply, oregon person successful their possession for sale, each single-use oregon disposable vapes.

Online nicotine retailer Haypp said 82% of the 369 customers they surveyed program to bulk acquisition the vapes earlier they are nary longer available.

But the vapes incorporate lithium batteries and could drawback occurrence if not stored correctly.

While much than a 3rd (34%) of radical surveyed by Haypp said they would see buying an amerciable vape aft the ban, the wide fig of radical utilizing disposable products has fallen from 30% to to 24% of vapers, according to Action connected Smoking and Health.

Shops selling vapes are required to connection a "take back" service, wherever they judge vapes and vape parts that customers instrumentality for recycling - including azygous usage products.

Read more: Everything you request to cognize astir the ban

The Local Government Association (LGA) led the telephone for a prohibition 2 years ago, owed to biology and wellbeing concerns, and is informing radical not to stockpile.

Cllr David Fothergill, president of the LGA's Community Wellbeing Board, said: "Failing to store disposable vapes correctly could outgo lives, fixed the important occurrence hazard they pose."

How disposable vapes drawback occurrence - oregon adjacent explode

Figures obtained by the Electric Tobacconist, via Freedom of Information requests, recovered an summation successful vape related fires - from 89 successful 2020 to 399 successful 2024.

Many disposable vapes usage cheap, oregon adjacent unregulated lithium-ion batteries, to support the costs down. These batteries often deficiency due information features, similar thermal chopped offs, making them much prone to overheating and catching fire.

If the artillery is damaged, oregon overheats successful immoderate mode it tin origin thermal runaway - a concatenation absorption wherever the battery's somesthesia rapidly increases, causing it to overheat uncontrollably.

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Then, erstwhile these fires commencement start, they are precise hard to stop. Water unsocial tin marque things worse if the artillery is inactive generating heat, truthful they necessitate specialised occurrence suppressants to enactment them out.

Batteries tin past re-ignite hours, oregon adjacent days later, making them a persistent hazard.

Disposable vapes are a hazard for discarded and litter postulation and origin fires successful bin lorries, adjacent though customers person been warned not to propulsion them distant successful household waste. They are astir intolerable to recycle due to the fact that they are designed arsenic 1 portion truthful the batteries cannot beryllium separated from plastic.

Some 8.2 cardinal units were thrown away, oregon recycled incorrectly, each week anterior to the ban.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said usage among young vapers remained excessively high, and the prohibition would "put an extremity to their alarming emergence successful schoolhouse playgrounds and the avalanche of rubbish flooding the nation's streets".

Circular system curate Mary Creagh said: "For excessively long, single-use vapes person blighted our streets arsenic litter and hooked our children connected nicotine. That ends today.

"The authorities calls clip connected these nasty devices."

'One successful 5 accidental they volition instrumentality to cigarettes'

Separate probe by beingness security experts astatine Confused.com recovered 2 successful 5 radical (37%) planned to halt vaping erstwhile the prohibition starts.

Nearly 1 successful 5 (19%) said they would instrumentality to cigarettes erstwhile the prohibition comes into force.

The probe was based connected the answers of 500 UK adults who presently vape.

Vaping and smoking besides appears to beryllium connected the rise, with Confused.com saying determination was a 44% summation successful the fig of radical declaring they fume oregon vape connected their beingness security argumentation since 2019.