You've seen them everywhere: brightly colored vapes in too many hands and littering sidewalks and parks. For a long time, it's felt like an unstoppable wave. In some places, though, that's changing.
Governments in countries like South Korea and the Philippines as well as municipalities across the United States have already enacted various vape-related bans. Now, officials in the United Kingdom are proposing a plan to bring the vape market under some control.
According to the Border Telegraph, they're proposing a new law requiring shops to obtain a special license to sell vapes. Up until now, it's been something of a free-for-all, allowing retailers to sell cheap, colorful vapes right next to candy, purportedly targeting kids.
Health minister Stephen Kinnock put it simply, saying, in a statement, "We aim to close a major gap in the law — making it necessary for shops to hold a license to sell tobacco, vapes and nicotine products."
With youth, young adults, and pregnant people facing unique health risks associated with the use of nicotine — a habit-forming ingredient found in most vapes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — the goal of such laws is to support public health, particularly as related to brain development and lung function. But they might improve health in more ways than one.
Disposable vapes tossed into the trash and along roadsides contribute to plastic waste and e-waste piling up in the environment, where they can shed microplastics and heavy metals. As experts have warned, the devices' lithium batteries can even spark dangerous fires in garbage trucks and landfills.
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The UK's new licensing plan is just one part of a growing movement to help address the issue overall. Retailers are not necessarily big fans of the proposed regulations, but some have welcomed the government's call for evidence to help shape and inform them.
"Policies designed to regulate vaping must be based on evidence rather than public opinion, which has too often been manufactured by media and political hysteria," Gillian Golden of the Independent British Vape Trade Association said in a statement.
Health advocates have voiced support for the call for evidence too and for the aim of the proposal.
Hazel Cheeseman of the group Action on Smoking and Health said, "The Tobacco and Vapes Bill is a world-leading piece of legislation with the potential to dramatically change how tobacco and vapes are sold — bringing in a smoke-free generation, taking us closer to smoke-free country and protecting children from vaping."
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