Romford stores clash over potential ban on disposable vapes

The Telegraph has reported that a decision to prohibit the devices will be revealed in a consultation by the Department of Health and Social Care.

Asked whether the Government will be banning single-use vapes next week, science and technology secretary Michelle Donelan did not deny the reports and told Sky News: “We’ll be making further announcements on that.”

Illegal vape seizures in Havering have more than tripled since last year, rising from 358 to 1,160, according to data from Vape Club.

Ali Shilsar, manager of Deja Vapes in The Arcade, believes Romford has a problem with newsagents and off-licences selling vapes to minors without enforcement.

“There’s no checks in shops, they [the government] do nothing about that,” he said. “There has been zero regulation, that’s the reason for the problems.”

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Ali, who opened in 2021, said his store initially had issues with young kids trying to buy vapes.

Despite being told no they simply went elsewhere, he claimed.

“They will just go to newsagents and off-licences to get them.”

Gavin Gosset, of Personal Vapour in Gidea Park, agreed that better enforcement was needed but said the government ban would help the industry and crack down on waste.

“Shops are selling them [vapes] to kids and that’s not on,” he said. “They’re also a big cause of waste because they’re not disposed of properly.”

Gavin, who has worked at Personal Vapour for three years, added that people were getting hooked on vapes too strong even for seasoned smokers.

“We will see an influx of people coming in addicted,” Gavin said, when asked about the likely aftermath of a ban.

He also claimed the ban would result in more people buying licensed, re-usable vapes that could help them quit smoking.

But Ali said it would only drive the problem underground.

“The ban won’t solve the problem,” he said. 

Ali claimed shops would continue to sell unsafe, unregulated products which would expose children to harmful levels of nicotine.

NHS service Better Help said that no vaping products have been licensed as stop smoking medicines in the UK so far.

The Department of Health and Social Care said it is looking to reduce the number of children accessing vapes.