Christopher Snowdon

Banning disposable e-cigarettes won’t stop kids vaping

Disposable vapes with bright and colourful packaging on sale in a shop (Credit: Getty images)

The government thinks it has finally found a popular policy. Better still, it is a policy that it can implement, or at least legislate for. According to a press release from the Department of Health and Social Care, a ban on disposable vapes is supported by ‘nearly 70 per cent of parents, teachers, healthcare professionals and the general public’. The British public love a ban. Last month a survey found that 29 per cent of us want to close the nightclubs to deal with the remnants of Covid-19 and 20 per cent want to re-introduce lockdown.

So, vox populi, vox dei? I think not. Support for banning disposable e-cigarettes needs to be put in the context of another survey carried out a few weeks ago which found that 41 per cent of the population think that vaping is as unhealthy as smoking; a further 11 per cent think it is worse.

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