BBC News, Yorkshire
Nearly two weeks on from a ban on the sale of single-use disposable vapes in the UK, many shops have been found still to be openly selling the illicit items. Almost half of the 21 stores which an undercover BBC reporter visited in cities in Yorkshire continued to sell the vapes as though there had been no law change.
Single-use vapes, in their bright-coloured packaging and variety of fruity flavours, had been a “key driver behind the alarming rise in youth vaping”, the previous government had said as it first set its sights on a ban.
The Labour administration followed through, with the disposables officially banned from sale from 1 June this year – the aim being to protect children’s health and reduce damage to the environment.
Since the introduction of the ban, anybody selling the illicit items risks a £200 fine, with repeat offenders facing the prospect of jail.
But our undercover investigation has revealed that while some shop owners in Sheffield, Bradford, York and Leeds have been found to be following the new rules, others are turning a blind eye.
In some shops we visited in Yorkshire, the colourful packaging of single-use vapes was still very much visible on the shelves.
Shopkeepers in those premises seemed happy to offer them to customers, and many were even selling them at a reduced price.
One shopkeeper I spoke to told me he knew he was breaking the law by selling the single-use disposable vapes, but he added that he wanted to sell his remaining stock at a discount.
“It’s banned,” he said, pointing at the stack of vapes in his shop window.
“I’m not allowed to sell them. I’m finishing. I don’t have a lot, so I’m just trying to [get rid of them].”
This was despite the ban on such vapes having been announced in October last year.
That gave stores more than seven months to get rid of the disposable vapes they still had in stockrooms and on the shelves before the ban came into force in June.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said before the ban that vape usage in England had grown by more than 400% between 2012 and 2023, with about 9% of people now buying and using the products.
Single-use disposable vapes helped get children hooked on nicotine and blighted high streets with waste, according to the government.
“It’s why we’ve taken tough action and banned them,” a Defra spokesperson said.
Flouting that ban, another shopkeeper asked me if I wanted a “good deal” and offered to sell me an armful of the illicit vapes for £20, showing me a pick-and-mix of fruity flavours in the store’s glass cabinet.
However, as part of our investigation in cities across Yorkshire to find out where such vapes were still being sold, we also visited traders regulated by North Yorkshire Council’s Trading Standards team.
Both shop workers approached by our undercover reporter there refused to sell the now-illegal items.
Councillor Greg White, North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for environment, said it was “disappointing” to see shops in other parts of Yorkshire were still prepared to break the law.
“There’s been plenty of time to prepare and to try to get people to move from disposable vapes to reusable ones, and that would have been good for their business,” he explained.
A Defra spokesperson said: “Rogue traders will face serious penalties, up to and including criminal prosecution.”
