Ealing Council Passes Motion on Disposable Vape Ban

Liberal Democrat proposal gets cross party support

Off Licence cigarette counter

December 20, 2023

Ealing Council has passed a motion calling for a total ban on disposable vapes in the borough in 2024. Although Labour, Liberal Democrats and Conservatives were mostly on the same side, the vote wasn’t without the customary political sniping.

The Liberal Democrat motion called for the council to use its full range of enforcement and licensing powers to limit the ability of shops in the borough to sell disposable vapes.

Several Labour councillors responded by saying there were more important issues to address and taking to the floor to defend the council’s record on enforcement of licensing objectives. However, speakers from all parties agreed that the ongoing issue of vapes and the protection of children was a priority for the borough.

Bringing forward the motion, Cllr Connie Hersch expressed her concerns over the marketing of the cigarette substitute to children. “The worst of these are disposable vapes which are cheap and come in candylike colours and flavours and they have found a new market and that is children and teenagers.”

She was followed by Cllr Bassam Mahfouz, who said that during his time in cabinet he had experienced a disturbing lack of concern from some shopkeepers regarding children purchasing vapes. He raised one example where a shop has been selling nicotine products to children in school uniforms.

“It had come to my knowledge that one particular shop I was aware of was actually not just selling [vapes] to young people but were selling it to young people in their school uniforms straight after school.”

Despite these concerns, the Labour amendment to the motion removed the Lib Dem’s effort to use licensing measures to stop the sale of vapes, changing it to praise the enforcement of council officers. Cllr Deirdre Costigan also raised the ecological impact of vapes citing the fact that the UK has 5 million disposable vapes being thrown away every week.

Disposable vapes can be cheap, come in attractive packaging with bright colours and are a significant health issue, a fire hazard (at home and in bin lorries) and create a significant amount of rubbish.

Vaping is meant to be a way to help existing adult smokers quit. Yet some vapes have levels of chemicals which are higher than in cigarettes and may contain heavy metals such as lead, chrome, nickel (neurotoxins, allergens which impair brain development) and other compounds such as carbonyls which are mildly carcinogenic. This is particularly concerning in relation to underage vaping which is on the rise.

Children experimenting with vaping has grown by nearly 50% since 2022, and the use of disposable vapes is most favoured by children. A study by ASH has shown that over 40% of 11 to 18 year olds who had tried vaping had never smoked before.

The government recently ended a public consultation on a potential smoking and vaping ban after increasing political pressure and strain on the NHS due to the activities.

The amended motion passed with almost universal approval, but it is unclear how it will manifest with a total ban in the borough likely unfeasible without government support.

Rory Bennett - Local Democracy Reporter