Meeting of the Parliament 14 September 2023
I absolutely accept that and, as we have heard from a number of members, it is also important to note that we face a growing avalanche of children and young people who never smoke—and never had any intention of smoking—but are now choosing to vape.
As ASH Scotland highlighted in March, using the Government’s figures, regular e-cigarette use by 15-year-olds has tripled in the past five years and has more than doubled for 13-year-olds, with single-use vapes being the product choice for the vast majority of young people.
That is not surprising. As we have heard, the brightly coloured, fruit-flavoured, cheap vapes are obscenely marketed in shop displays and on social media platforms clearly and specifically to target young people. The gangsters behind many of those products are no better than the people in big tobacco firms who glamorised smoking in the 1960s and 1970s, when they knew that they were killing people.
I am frustrated that the Government has not yet listened to the long-standing calls from Asthma + Lung UK Scotland and ASH Scotland to fully enact the remaining regulations from the Health (Tobacco, Nicotine etc and Care) (Scotland) Act 2016 to restrict the marketing and promotion of vaping products. I hope that we see that happen soon, but we need to go further. As this debate has shown, alongside the health impact of e-cigarettes, the toxic and single-use plastic waste that is caused by disposable vapes has become a new environmental crisis.
Last week, stark figures from Material Focus showed that the number of disposable vapes thrown away in the UK has quadrupled to 5 million a week in the past year. More than 7 million are bought every week and just 17 per cent of users recycle those vapes in a shop or local recycling centre. Inspirational campaigners such as Laura Young have highlighted that people often choose to dispose of their vapes on Scotland’s streets and in our play parks. The industry has failed to show responsibility by providing proper information on its products about how and where to dispose of vapes in a safe, sustainable way and it has failed to put in place a proper network of take-back schemes.
Calling for a bit more recycling is not the answer. There are already alternatives, which also need to be better regulated, but disposable vapes are an unnecessary evil that could and should be banned. Yes—we need to get the detail right. Any laws need to be future proof, so that they can be easily adapted through regulations if new products are developed.
The upcoming Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill is an opportunity to follow the lead that Wales is showing, as well, it seems, as England this week—possibly under the current Government, but certainly under the next Labour Government.
If the Scottish Government does not include in its Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill a ban on the sale of disposable vapes, Labour MSPs will amend that bill, to try and take disposable vapes off our shelves and away from littering our streets.
13:22