Vapes should be taxed to cover the millions it costs to dispose of them

[TreesTreesBeesBees]

Vapes. Causing fires in waste disposal. Cost millions to dispose of safely due to their fire risk.

So add tax to them to cover the costs

It's only been a couple of months so of course there are still a lot in circulation. As the BBC article says, 'large stocks of disposables were sold off at reduced prices before the ban came into force.'

Disposable vapes have been an environmental disaster, not least because they have encouraged the attitude that it's reasonable to dispose of perfectly good rechargeable Li-Ion batteries after a single use, when looked after properly they can be recharged up to 500 times before they begin to lose performance.

It'll take time for attitudes to change back to how they were before.

Whatever pricing structure and taxes we end up with it must be made cheaper to recharge and refill than to dispose of the vape after a single use. Even more importantly it must remain cheaper to vape than to smoke.

If the problem is battery disposal then tax the batteries (ALL Li-Ion batteries) not the liquid. Or introduce hefty fines for improper disposal.

I'm a vaper, I've never used a disposable. I use several batteries on rotation and generally get 2-3 years use out of them before recycling reponsibly. Why should I be penalised for the irresponsible behaviour of others?

The ones who use more batteries would pay more tax if it was on product, since you don't buy much you wouldn't be penalised anywhere near the ones who buy lots.

Yes agree, disposal vapes were a mistake and bad for the environment. Recycling and reuse should be cheaper

How do you work that out if the tax is on eliquid?

Yes agree, disposal vapes were a mistake and bad for the environment. Recycling and reuse should be cheaper. I proposed it on on the actual vape things. It would be cheaper then. Obviously not if on liquid.

Vapes are the scourge on society. So much damage to young teens, more addictive than cigarettes, more dangerous latest research suggesting, plus of course the waste and disposal. 💯 support massive taxes on them… that should go to nhs

I'd sooner ban them outright. Or at least make them available only to ex-smokers as a means of quitting. The rate that kids are using them is a public health crisis waiting to happen.

Do you have any links to danger linked to vaping? I don't disagree or agree, just wondered what latest research showed. Although, I cannot imagine inhaling the chemicals used to flavour and scent them are any good though.

The pretty colours and smells appear to be aimed at children... bubblegum?

Could we ban them?

'The actual vape things'?

I use a device that comes without batteries in it. I buy batteries separately - standard 18650 Li-ion batteries which have a variety of uses besides vaping. I use tanks which I bought separately quite a few years ago now. I buy drip tips separately. I make my own coils from kanthal wire which, again, has a variety of non-vape related uses.

Which is 'the actual vape thing'?

Please can we not start with the dangerous misinformation yet again?

'The key points about vaping (e-cigarettes) can be easily summarised. If you smoke, vaping is much safer; if you don’t smoke, don’t vape'

Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer for England

https://ash.org.uk/resources/view/addressing-common-myths-about-vaping-putting-the-evidence-in-context

Vapes are already taxed. Were you unaware?

You'll be pleased to know that rates of vaping among children have levelled off over the past couple of years. The vast majority of children who vape are, like adult vapers, smokers or ex-smokers.

Unfortunately the rate of smoking among young people has increased. That's the real public health crisis.

It's an entirely predictable result of persistently lying to people and convincing them that vaping is as harmful or more harmful than smoking.

https://ash.org.uk/resources/view/use-of-e-cigarettes-among-young-people-in-great-britain

Vapes should only ever have been available from pharmacies as an aid to stopping smoking. Now a whole industry has sprung up around them. They are big business.

I don't vape. I just see them littered around the place. Read a few articles on the fires vapes are causing and how concerning it is. Fire on a plane possible?

Also read the cost of disposal for not only disposable ones but all of them. Hence the questions. Shame a different means of getting flavoured liquid into lungs couldn't be invented that is more friendly to the environment and less problematic for fir starting.

You sound unusual amongst vape users. Ive seen lots vape and throw, going by the floor near pubs and clubs, shops etc. Wish more were like you!

Im not starting anything, just asked for links to what another poster claimed.

What? That's for overly pedantic protests.

The OP's point is really valid here. A billion pounds? Presumably WE pay that, through council taxes (which have increased hugely in recent years); the non-vaping public, supplementing those who do.

In any case, this industry is an environmental plague. I'd like international governments to find a way of banning any product that is not 90% either recyclable or harmless after 5 years of being deposited in landfill. Or something like that anyway. Get back to expensive, but longer life products.

Indeed we pay for the costs of disposal and for repair to trucks and facilities after fires started by vape or vape equipment

Which would make absolutely no difference to the price to the consumer as the companies would simply pass the cost on. I do agree with taxing vapes though, however it’s done. Disposable vapes are an envonmental nightmare.

It occurs to me that trading standards needs to crack down on dodgy corner shops selling smuggled tobacco under the counter.

Li-Ion batteries can cause fires if they are damaged, overdrained or overcharged. They cause fires in refuse and recycling facilities because they get damaged during the process.

A fire on a plane caused by a vape is no more likely than one caused by a laptop or phone. Less likely, in fact, because you can't use vapes on a plane but you can use a phone/laptop.

Also read the cost of disposal for not only disposable ones but all of them.

The non-disposable ones they are talking about have batteries sealed inside them, like an electric toothbrush. They're expensive to dispose of because they contain a battery, with the additional cost of having to get it out of the device. If they were actually used as non-disposable this wouldn't be a huge cost burden in the scheme of things because they would last a couple of years - disposal costs would be on a par with other rechargeable electronic devices with non-removable batteries.

Nobody who uses a device that takes separate batteries is littering batteries around the place!

Yes, I know. My concern is in encouraging posters like the one you quoted, who is peddling harmful myths and will no doubt be able to find links to dodgy studies which she doesn't understand to back up her claims. There is a lot of extremely poor quality research in this area, mostly emanating from the US, and even poorer quality media reporting of the studies. This is why ASH published their briefing which I linked to upthread:

https://ash.org.uk/resources/view/addressing-common-myths-about-vaping-putting-the-evidence-in-context

What usually happens on these threads is you get a couple of posters gish-galloping with loads of links which then need tracing back to the actual studies they're based on, which then need reading and then the glaring methodological flaws need explaining and before you know it we're back to discussing 'popcorn lung' and there are just not enough hours in the day

Public Health England's evidence review of 2022 is probably the most comprehensive you will find at 1468 pages (they do provide a summary!)

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nicotine-vaping-in-england-2022-evidence-update

It's a couple of years old now but there have been no findings since then which have challenged the UK public health consensus that vaping is at least 95% less harmful than smoking.