Powers to ban the sale and supply in Scotland.
Single-use vapes will no longer be stocked or sold in Scotland under new legislation which comes into force today (Sunday 1 June).
The UK-wide ban has been introduced to prevent the environmental damage disposable vapes cause and to address health concerns associated with vaping as Scotland moves towards a tobacco-free generation by 2034.
An estimated 26 million disposable vapes were thrown away in Scotland in 2023. Of these, more than half were not recycled properly and around 10% were littered. The batteries used within disposable vapes are difficult to recycle, leak harmful waste and can cause fires in waste facilities.
Scotland was the first nation in the UK to commit to taking action on single use vapes.
ACTING NET ZERO SECRETARY GILLIAN MARTIN
It’s estimated that over half of disposable vapes are incorrectly disposed of each year in Scotland – creating a fire risk and littering our beautiful environment. They also contain nicotine which is highly addictive.
This change to the law fulfils a Programme for Government commitment and will help tackle the threat that single-use vapes pose to our environment as well as to our public health.
We have worked closely across the four nations to ensure a consistent approach to a ban on the sale and supply of single-use vapes and will continue to work with regulators regarding enforcement once in force.
Moves to raise the age of sale of tobacco products and regulate the displays, flavours and packaging of reusable vapes, are being taken forward separately through the 4-nations Tobacco and Vapes Bill.
A ban on the sale and supply of single-use vapes is now in place in Scotland and across the UK.
— Scottish Government (@scotgov) June 1, 2025
The ban will help:
reduce waste
protect our environment
create a cleaner, greener future pic.twitter.com/rsRJI9p986
Background
The ban on single-use vapes has been taken forward using powers under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. This approach has been used in the past to ban other items such as microbeads, cotton buds and single use plastics.
A ban on single-use vapes was recommended in the four nation consultation ‘Creating a Smokefree Generation and Tackling Youth Vaping’ which ran in 2023.
