Single use vapes to be banned in June – retailers should act now
19 May 2025
Consumers and business owners are being reminded of upcoming legislation that will see an outright ban on the purchase and sale of single use vapes.
Northumberland County Council’s Trading Standards Service is advising retailers not to buy new stocks of single use vapes and to sell any existing stocks in advance of the ban that comes into force across the country on 1 June 2025.
From June 1 it will become illegal for businesses to sell or supply all single-use vapes. These include all 'disposable' vapes which are not refillable and use a battery which cannot be recharged.
The new legislation applies to all vapes whether they contain nicotine or not and will affect both sales in shops and online.
From June 1, any spare vapes will need to be removed from their store and collected by a registered vape recycling service.
To ensure businesses are aware of the new regulations, Northumberland County Council’s Trading Standards team has been contacting retailers across the county to offer guidance to support them in being compliant with the regulations.
Retailers who fail to follow the law and continue to sell disposable vapes after the ban could be fined £200 and repeat offenders could be prosecuted.
Single use vapes present a real challenge for our environment and also present a safety risk. An estimated 8.2 million disposable vapes are littered every year in the UK, which equates to around 13 every second. They waste valuable resources and are often discarded improperly, releasing harmful substances into the environment and posing a fire hazard if they end up in landfill.
The number of children trying vapes has tripled in the last three years and there is strong evidence to suggest that cheap and easy-to-use disposable vapes are part of the reason.
Darin Wilson, Head of Public Protection for Northumberland County Council said:
“Vapes, are shown to be less harmful than smoking and are a useful tool for adult smokers to switch to in order to help them quit tobacco smoking. The colours, flavours and advertising of disposable single use vapes are very appealing to children however and may be encouraging more young people to try them.
“These vapes also blight our streets as litter, and as they contain lithium batteries which can be highly flammable, they are a fire hazard in our bin lorries and our Waste Transfer Stations.
“Our thanks are given to the many responsible businesses in Northumberland that have made advance preparations by running stocks of single use vapes down in preparation for the ban. Other retailers are encouraged to follow this lead so they are not caught out after 1 June. If any business operator needs any further support or advice around this legislation, they should reach out to our Trading Standards team who are here to help.”
Retailers will still be able to sell reusable vapes. For vapes to be considered reusable, replacement components (including the pre-filled pods, e-liquid refill bottles and coils) must be separately available to buy either in-store or online