Government pushes back disposable vape ban to June 2025

Disposable vapes will be banned from sale in England next summer, the government has confirmed.

The disposable vape ban in the country was initially proposed by the previous Government from April 2025.

The legislation had been laid out in parliament, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs confirmed on Wednesday (23). The department said it had worked closely with devolved governments on the ban and would “align coming into force dates”.

From June 2025 it will be illegal to sell single-use vapes, in a move designed to combat environmental damage and their widespread use by children.

Convenience store body Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has welcomed confirmation from the Government, saying that the proposed implementation of a ban on disposable vaping products from June 1 will allow businesses enough time to prepare.

The Government has laid legislation to introduce the ban and, subject to parliamentary approval, businesses will have until 1st June 2025 to sell any remaining stock they hold and prepare for the ban coming into force. The UK Government and Devolved Governments have worked closely and anticipate aligning coming into force dates.

The ban was initially proposed by the previous Government with a planned implementation date of April 1 2025. ACS has highlighted to officials the importance of a sell-through period of at least six months to enable businesses to prepare.

ACS chief executive James Lowman said, “We welcome the Government’s intention to provide businesses with enough time to prepare for the changes, including selling through existing product, working with suppliers to source alternative products and making structural changes to their displays in stores. This is still a challenging timetable for retailers and their supply chains, and we have developed comprehensive guidance on the ban which will be published shortly to help businesses with the transition.

“Once the ban is in place, it is essential that rogue sellers who are still selling disposable vaping products face the full force of the law and that Trading Standards enforcement teams are made aware as soon as possible, as these businesses undermine legitimate retailers.”

From June 1, the only vaping products that will be available for sale legally in the UK must be refillable and rechargeable, intended for multiple uses as opposed to ‘disposable’ vapes which are single-use products.

All retailers who sell vaping products must provide recycling facilities in their stores on at least a one for one basis. More information about vape recycling is available here: https://cdn.acs.org.uk/public/ACS%20Vape%20Recycling%20Guidance%20(Apr%2024%20Update).pdf