The UK Government have announced plans for restrictions on colourful vape packaging and flavour descriptions.
The plans, which Ministers say will stop vapes being marketed to children, have been launched as part of a joint consultation from the UK and the devolved governments.
The consultation seeks views on introducing plain white packaging for vape products, with restrictions on text colour, imagery, limited branding, and standardised safety information.
The government are also proposing restricting flavour names to only simple recognisable descriptions, such as ‘apple’, as well as a ban on names relating to confectionery, sweets, desserts, and alcohol.
The plans could also mandate manufacturers to make vape products white, black or grey, with no images, limited branding, no cosmetic lights, and screens only displaying safety information.
The government is also seeking views on restricting how shops display vape products in the same way as tobacco products.
Cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco have been legally required to be sold in plain, standardised packaging since 2017.
The consultation proposes extending these requirements to all tobacco products, including cigars and cigarette papers.
Commenting, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, James Murray, said too many young people are experimenting with vapes and are attracted by the ‘array of flavours, bright colours, and marketing displays’.
“Vapes are less harmful than cigarettes and can play an important role in helping adult smokers to quit, but they should never be designed or marketed in ways that tempt children,” Murray continued.
The sale of single-use vapes was banned across the UK in June last year. However, research from Material Focus, a non-profit working to reduce e-waste, found that 6.3 million vapes and pods are still thrown away or recycled incorrectly each week in the UK.
Waste companies have called for a £5 deposit to be charged on vapes as an incentive to dispose of them properly.
As part of the proposals put forward by the Environmental Services Association (ESA), a deposit would be charged on vapes at the point of purchase and refunded when the customer returns the product to a collection point.
Biffa, the UK’s largest waste company, suggested the deposit should be £5, which is considerably higher than what will be charged as part of the UK’s deposit return scheme (DRS) for drinks containers.