You can now be fined hundreds of pounds or even face prison if you’re found to be supplying or selling vapes
The sale and supply of single use vapes are banned in Wales from June 1(Image: Matthew Horwood)
Single-use vapes are banned across Wales and the UK from today. The move has been introduced to reduce the environmental harm caused by their production and incorrect disposal. Keep Wales Tidy estimates that over just one year, 360,000 single-use vapes are littered on the ground in Wales, while 120,000 are flushed down the toilet.
The Welsh Government has worked closely with the UK Government to ensure the ban operates on the same timescale cross-border to maximise compliance and to allow around 2,000 small and medium sized retailers across Wales time to take action.
First Minister Eluned Morgan said: “Littering from single-use vapes spoils our communities and we have been working in partnership with the UK and devolved Governments to ensure there are no loopholes, with the ban running to the same timescales as the rest of the UK.
“Here is yet another example of governments working in partnership to tackle the priorities of the people of Wales.”
The UK Government website states that local authorities in Wales lead on enforcing the ban, and encouraged people to contact their local authority or Trading Standards service if they suspect that someone is supplying single-use vapes, or have questions about following the ban’s rules or how it is enforced.
Enforcement authorities may apply civil sanctions such as a fixed fine of £200 or a variable fine of more than £200, an enforcement cost recovery notice , a non-compliance penalty, or a stop notice.
You may be given an unlimited fine and prison sentence of up to six months if you’re found guilty in a magistrates’ court of stocking, selling or supplying single-use vapes or you fail to follow a stop notice.
Single-use vapes are not designed or intended for reuse.
A vape is single-use if it either has a battery you cannot recharge or is not refillable.
To be reuseable, a vape must have a rechargeable battery, a refillable container that holds the vaping e-liquid (such as a chamber, capsule, cartridge, pod or tank) or removable and replaceable coil (if the vape contains a coil).
Deputy First Minister with responsibility for climate change Huw Irranca-Davies said: “Single-use vapes are a blight on our wildlife and environment, and this ban will massively reduce the litter and pollution they cause in Welsh communities.
“This weekend is another demonstration of your Welsh Labour Government’s commitment to nature, addressing the climate emergency and contributes towards Wales’s position as the second-best recycling nation in the world.”
And minister for mental health and wellbeing, Sarah Murphy added: “The positive health impact of this ban will help us protect children and young people from these products and the harms caused by nicotine addiction.
“One of the Welsh Government and First Minister’s priorities is Iechyd Da – better health, and this is a significant step forward in limiting the health hazards and harms resulting from vape products.”
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