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

Homelessness

42. In Scotland, there were 39,006 homelessness applications recorded in 2022-23. From April to September 2022, 1,184 homeless applicants reported rough sleeping during the previous three months (6% of all applications)^[58].

43. A 2014 report for Public Health England^[59] highlighted that cigarette smoking was highly prevalent among homeless individuals. Similar findings were also seen in the report from a 2021 study, ‘Exploring the uptake and use of electronic cigarettes provided to smokers accessing homeless centres: a four-centre cluster feasibility trial’.^[60] However, the evidence of those experiencing homelessness who also use vapes is extremely limited at this time.

44. Those experiencing homelessness and who use vapes may rely on single-use vapes rather than reusable options. However, there is little data or evidence available at this time to confirm this. Views have been sought ahead of the consultation from representative organisations to better understand what impact the proposal may have, particularly where they are used as an aid for smoking cessation.

45. Wider engagement will continue during the consultation to better understand how the proposal may impact on those experiencing socio-economic disadvantage across Scotland.