Prohibition of the sale and supply of single-use vapes: Fairer Scotland Duty Summary

Aims and expected outcomes of the proposal

1. To target the environmental issues associated with single-use vapes, the Scottish Government has agreed with the UK Government (legislating for England), the Welsh Government, and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland to prohibit the sale and supply of such items (hereafter referred to as ban on single-use vapes). This includes both nicotine and non-nicotine containing products since the environmental concerns exist for both types of products.

2. The proposal aims to ban the sale and supply of single-use vapes to reduce environmental harm caused by the disposal of these items.

3. The policy objectives of the intervention are to:

• Accelerate a reduction in environmental harm by reducing the number of vapes being landfilled, incinerated, and littered, thereby increasing recycling and reuse rates.
• Stimulate businesses and consumers to replace single-use vapes with reusable alternatives, thereby supporting a switch to less environmentally harmful products.