NEWS FEATURE
10 ASIAN TRADER 16 MAY 2025
s the UK government prepares to
outlaw disposable vapes from June 1,
a cloud of confusion and frustration
hangs over the independent retail sector.
While the government cites youth vaping
and electronic waste as the driving forces
behind the ban, retailers on the ground are
sounding the alarm, saying this move is only
set to boost illegal trade and leave honest
shopkeepers to face the customer backlash.
From June 1, those found selling dispos-
able vapes will get a £200 on-the-spot fine in
the first instance, rising to an unlimited fine
and/or a prison sentence of up to two years
for repeat ofences.
The ban specifically applies to vape
devices that are neither
rechargeable nor refillable.
Household names such as the
Elf Bar 600 and Lost Mary
BM600 fall under this category
and will be illegal to sell.
The motivation behind the
ban is understandable. Consid-
ering that five million dispos-
able vapes, containing lithium-
ion batteries, are discarded each
week in the UK, and many of
them not in the right way, some
kind of restrictions and action on proper
disposal were needed for a long time.
But the solution rolled out is raising more
questions than answers. And for many
convenience retailers, it feels less like a
policy for public good and more like a
“strategically targeted attack” on an already
embattled sector.
And the reasons are many, right
from basics to loss of a high-margin
product line to implementation and
scary after-efects.
“This is a half-baked legislation. It’s
almost as if somebody had a bright
idea on their way to a meeting or a
train somewhere, and they have made
a note of it and put it through
Parliament,” One Stop retailer Priyesh
Vekaria said. “It will be the retailers
who will be facing the hardships.”
Reusable devices, such as pod-
With the ban on disposable vapes only weeks
away, the government is banning the product,
not the problem, says Pooja Shrivastava
greater than 2ml, a nicotine strength of
more than 20ml or labels that do not display
manufacturer details and health warnings is
considered “illegal”.
Talking about the users, a recent survey
by Haypp shows that almost a third (32 per
cent) of those surveyed admitted they would
be willing to purchase an illegal vape, which
implies trouble ahead.
With enforcement patchy and demand
steady, legitimate shopkeepers are bracing
for a fresh wave of illicit trading post the ban
that would threaten both their livelihoods
and community safety.
“The government is bringing a piece of
legislation while it is failing to tackle the
already booming illegal vape trade in the UK.
The June 1 ban will need even stronger
enforcement, but they still don’t have many
resources,” pointed out Vekaria.
He cites a recent case in Solihull in
Midlands where the biggest seize of illegal
vapes from retail was reported in March this
year. Within a few days, the store was open
again for trading, he pointed out.
“Since the enforcement is not powerful
enough to deter the illicit trade from
continuing and also because there is so much
money in this that the rogue traders can
aford to pay the fine and carry on
doing the business,” explained
Vekaria, laying bare the harsh truth.
Retailers like Vekaria are not only
bracing for the legislative burden, but
they also fear a significant loss of
basket spend.
“When a store is in a highly-com-
petitive high street with all sorts of
businesses, customers are likely to
choose stores that sell them whatever
they ask for; buyers won’t care much
about the legalities since they are used
to disposable vapes.
Disposable vape ban:
policy without policing?
based and refillable kits, remain legal.
Some retailers like Midland-based
Jayaseelan Thambirajah and Swindon-
based Arjun Patel have already started
shifting their customers towards
refillable devices.
A recent study by University
College London (UCL) study even
claims that popularity of disposable vapes
has fallen, mainly due to vape users switch-
ing to refillable and rechargeable ones in
anticipation of the ban.
However, lack of clarity persists.
Citing an example, Vekaria revealed how
in some cases, vape makers have gone ahead
to quickly transition disposable vapes into
rechargeable ones by adding a
battery pod, making it tricky for
retailers to identify compliant
devices.
Illicit trade
Ironically, those who are not
going to sufer but rather
flourish post June 1 will be rogue
traders and suppliers.
The black market is already
booming with illegal vapes at
the moment. The scale of illegal
vape market can be estimated by the fact
that more than six million illegal vaping
products were seized by Trading Standards
ofcers across England in the past three
years.
However, this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Currently, any vape with tank sizes
Priyesh Vekaria