Shopkeepers flouted the new vapes crackdown today by selling single-use e-cigarettes on the first day of a Government ban.
MailOnline found that one vape dealer in four was willing to sell the banned disposables to a reporter posing as a customer.
The sale of disposable vape devices, which are sweet-flavoured and brightly packaged, has been prohibited to safeguard children’s health and the environment. Consumers have shown a willingness to switch to alternative products in compliance with this new regulation.
One trader even checked whether we were from trading standards before selling us a cola-flavoured disposable for £6.
Dealers who were abiding by the law which came into force today complained that they stand to lose a fortune in stock they cannot sell.
MailOnline toured the vape shops, shisha bars, corner shops and supermarkets of south London just hours after they opened their doors to customers.
They face a £200 fine if caught selling the one-use devices blamed for fuelling a boom in youth vaping and a mountain of discarded cases.
The regulation, originally drafted by the Tories, gained widespread support in Westminster. Following the General Election last year, Labour took charge of the legislation and successfully implemented it.
A study by MailOnline uncovered that twenty-five percent of vape vendors were found to be illegally selling the banned disposable devices to an undercover reporter named Cyril Dixon, who posed as a customer.
One shopkeeper sold us a watermelon-flavoured 20mg/ml Elfbar 600 disposable pod for £5 (centre). While another sold us a triple melon-favoured Lost Mary BM600 disposable for £5 (left)
But the MailOnline investigator approached 12 different sellers and was able to buy a one-use device from three.
In Catford, south London, a general storekeeper seemed oblivious to his legal duty to sell only multi-use vapes.
Asked if he had any disposables left over following the law change, he pointed to a shelf full of colourful boxes and asked: ‘Which one?’.
He sold us a watermelon-flavoured 20mg/ml Elfbar 600 disposable pod for £5, but we could also have chosen apple peach, grape, banana ice or others.
Another storekeeper happily sold us a triple melon-favoured Lost Mary BM600 disposable for £5.
Reminded that they were now banned by the Government, he said they were left with stock which they were trying to get rid of.
A third shopkeeper in nearby Lewisham told us she was not allowed to sell disposables any more and had cleared her shelves.
But she then asked whether we were customers or checking up on whether the ban was being observed.
It is now illegal for businesses to sell or supply single-use vapes, such as Elf bars and Lost Mary, both in shops and online (file photo)
NHS Digital data for the year 2021, showed 30 per cent of children in Yorkshire and the Humber have used a vapeÂ
When she realised we were not from the council, she brought out what she said was her last remaining single use vape – a cola-flavoured Lost Mary BM600 priced at £6.
In nearby Lee, an employee at Vape Man, which was not breaching the ban, said: ‘We’ve lost lots of business because customers prefer the disposables.
‘They like to buy the 600 pods but we can’t sell them now so we are going to lose a lot of money. We have stock which we cannot sell. Business is definitely down.
‘I’m not angry about it, but I am definitely worried. There is about £1,800 to £2,000 in stock there which we cannot get money back on.
‘We don’t know what to do with it. We can’t send it back and we can’t sell it so I guess it will have to be destroyed.’
Other shopkeepers said they prepared for the ban by advising customers to switch from disposables to reusables before it came in.
One, at Shisha Town, Lewisham, said: ‘We told them we were going to have to get rid of the single-use ones and they gradually started switching over.’
It is now illegal for businesses to sell or supply single-use vapes, such as Elf bars and Lost Mary, in shops and online.
Only devices considered reusable – with a rechargeable battery and replaceable coil – will be allowed.
Tests on e-cigarettes confiscated from youngsters found they contained dangerous levels of lead, nickel and chromium. Some were almost ten times above safe limitsÂ
Disposable vapes of varying flavours on sale beneath children’s sweets and lollipops in a store close to Birmingham — January 29, 2024
The law is aimed at protecting the environment and tackling a surge in youth vaping rates, which have soared from 0.8 per cent in 2013 to 7.2 per cent last year.
Disposable vapes, known for their variety of flavours and brightly coloured packaging, have become increasingly popular among teenagers.
Moreover, an estimated five million single use vapes, which are available to buy at pocket money prices, are thrown away in the UK every week.Â
According to new research by online nicotine retailer, Haypp, 82 percent of disposable vape users planned to stockpile ahead of the ban.Â
Although the crackdown sought to curb use among young people and reduce the litter and environmental impact, stockpiling poses a threat to the environment and the health of young people.
Cllr David Fothergill, Chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board, urged shops to comply with the new ban on single-use vapes, dubbing them a ‘blight [on] our streets.’
He added: ‘We would also urge caution to anyone stockpiling disposable vapes. Failing to store disposable vapes correctly could cost lives, given the significant fire risk they pose.’
Yet stockpiling current vapes on the market isn’t the only concern, as green campaigners have warned of cheap new models with the same feel, look, and price as disposable vapes, flooding the market.
Material Focus, an advocacy group for circular economies, has said vape manufacturers have been developing new styles that are cheap but meet reusable criteria, meaning they essentially circumvent the ban.
They added that increasingly popular ‘big puff’ vapes are cheaper per inhalation than disposable vapes, arguing there there is little incentive for customers to reuse the product.
Pictured left to right: A vape with a refillable liquid pod versus a non reusable model
Pictured left to right: An aerial image of a disposable vape, which will be banned tomorrow, versus a new reusable model
A photograph taken on April 10, 2024 shows a stand selling vapes also called electronic cigarettes or e-cigarettes in a shop in Liverpool
Scott Butler, executive director of Material Focus, said: ‘Without quick and extensive action, the threat of a ‘vapocalypse’ remains and new big puff and pod vape models are already contributing to an environmental nightmare.’
He added that vape company design teams have been ‘working their socks off to get new legal models on to the market’ while the regulatory work was being carried out.
‘To most users of these vapes, and shopkeepers even, they may not notice any difference in the old disposable vapes versus the new re-useable ones,’ he said.
Mr Butler said that while the ban will take some of the most environmentally wasteful products off the market, the UK may need more flexible legislation to tackle challenges around new models and waste.
Chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health, Hazel Cheeseman, has said the incoming new rules ‘may be insufficient’ by themsleves.
‘The Government cannot expect leopards to change their spots,’ she said.
‘If they want a vaping market with products that have minimal impact on the environment, do not appeal to teens and are safe and effective to help adult smokers quit, then further regulations are needed.’
Asked on Friday whether the legislation would be enough to stop vape producers flooding the market with similar products, nature minister Mary Creagh said: ‘Well let’s bring in the ban first. That’s what I would say.’
A vape shop in Sheffield advertising a clearance sale on disposable vapes on the day before the disposable vape banÂ
A disposable vape (left) with the new refillable vape (right) are displayed at a store in London — May 31, 2025Â
So-called ‘ban-proof’ refillable ElfBar vapes on sale in a convenience store during the final day before the disposable vape ban — May 31, 2025
Ms Creagh said the Tobacco and Vapes Bill currently progressing through Parliament will look at further restrictions on vape sales and use.
‘I’m confident that my colleagues in the Department of Health will not hesitate to use those powers should what we’re doing this weekend not achieve the goals,’ she said.
‘But I’m confident that it is already sparking a conversation among young people… getting them to ask the questions, getting them to understand that there’s no such place as ‘away’ and that these are really difficult to recycle.’
She added that most big puff vapes on the market do not have replaceable coils so they are within the scope of the ban.
The Government is considering further ways to drive up levels of separately collected electrical waste including vapes as part of reforms to waste electrical and electronic equipment regulations.
Under current rules, vape producers already have a legal responsibility to finance their collection for recycling.
Vapes contain valuable and critical materials such as lithium and copper that are regularly binned in household waste, and if littered, they can also cause fires and other damaging or toxic impacts on the environment as well as wildlife.
To help drive up recycling rates, Material Focus is calling for retailers to make more collection points available as well as the launch of a major communications campaign to drive public awareness about recycling the devices.
Mr Butler said: ‘The majority of vapers are either unaware of where to recycle their vapes or don’t have a good experience of recycling them.’
