Northern Ireland is set to ban the sale and supply of single use vapes by April 2025, in a bid to stop five million single use vapes being thrown away or littered every week across the UK.
Environment Minister Andrew Muir MLA has announced his intention to prohibit the sale and supply of single use vapes in Northern Ireland, in parallel with the rest of the UK.
The move recognises the strong support from the Northern Ireland public for a ban on single use vapes in response to the UK wide consultation on ‘Creating a Smokefree Generation and Tackling Youth Vaping’.
Speaking of the announcement, Minister Muir said:
“I have listened to concerns over the environmental impact of single use vapes and I’m delighted to announce that my Department is taking action to progress a ban on the sale and supply of single use vapes in Northern Ireland.
“The environmental damage created by the alarming rise in the littering and incorrect disposal of used vapes is a key concern. It's estimated that as many as five million single use vapes are simply thrown away in residual bins or littered every week across the UK, rather than being recycled.
“Single use vape waste introduces plastic, nicotine salts, metals and lithium-ion batteries into the environment and can have a devastating impact on our environment and biodiversity.”
A single use vapes working group has been formed between Northern Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales. Under current plans, each nation will progress its own legislation and have agreed to work towards a joint coming into force date of 1 April 2025.
The Minister concluded:
“Whilst timelines are extremely ambitious, my department is working at pace to progress this piece of work. I also welcome the collaborative engagement between Government officials across the UK to address single use vape issues.
“Alignment of approaches will deliver shared health and environmental benefits and will help provide clarity for businesses which are currently selling single use vaping products.”
Overall, 90.4% of individual respondents from Northern Ireland agreed there should be restrictions on the sale and supply of single use vapes and 84.9% agreed that restrictions should take the form of a ban on their sale and supply.