Disposable Ban, Lasting Consequences: The Rise of Illicit Vapes After the UK Ban

In June, the UK banned disposable vapes. The result? As expected, black market growth.

Once deemed one of the most progressive countries in relation to tobacco harm reduction, the United Kingdom’s recent change in strategy on tobacco control is increasingly under scrutiny. Science, as well as well documented real-world data, highlight the unintended consequences of prohibitionist policies. With the diposable vapes’ ban going into effect last June, how is the situation looking now?

This is how: seizures of illicit vaping products are soaring nationwide, raising fears that the government’s ban on disposables is fueling an unregulated black market rather than curbing use.Brighton and Hove reported over 10,000 confiscations in 2024 after years without a single recorded seizure. Large hauls were also reported across West and East Sussex, as well as Guildford, where officials removed more than 1,200 devices in a single operation.

Norfolk officials seized over 900 single-use vapes in a single month, while inspections revealed ongoing non-compliance among retailers. In Wales, 1,300 illegal devices were seized within two months. In Cardiff, undercover operations found shops openly selling banned products, sometimes out of back rooms. In Scotland, a survey found nearly one-third of retailers were still asked daily for disposables.

Prohibition breeds illicit markets
Authorities cite these numbers as evidence of enforcement success. But health campaigners and industry experts argue the opposite: these figures reveal a policy failure. With limited resources, local enforcement cannot keep pace with a thriving underground trade. Rather than reducing harm, the ban appears to be pushing consumers—many of them adult smokers seeking safer alternatives—into unregulated markets where products lack safety oversight.

Introduced to tackle litter and youth access, the disposable vapes ban is undoubtedly at the heart of this escalation. While intended to protect children, evidence suggests it is driving more adults toward unsafe black-market sources. Trading Standards officers report an overwhelming challenge: confiscated products are restocked almost as quickly as they are removed. The result is a cat-and-mouse cycle that strains enforcement without addressing demand. As history has shown—from alcohol prohibition in the U.S. to drug bans worldwide—restricting supply without tackling consumer demand invariably strengthens illicit markets.

The tobacco and vapes bill: symbolism over substance?
These developments come as Parliament debates the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, whose flagship measure is the “Tobacco-Free Generation” (TFG) initiative. The law, which local tobacco harm reduction expert Clive Bates aptly calls a “nothing burger with minimal effect,” will prohibit tobacco sales to anyone born on or after January 1, 2009, effectively raising the smoking age year by year. While pitched as a bold public health move, critics warn it is symbolic at best. The policy will not apply until 2027, and government modelling predicts it will prevent an average of just 200 deaths annually by 2044—a mere 0.3% reduction in smoking-related deaths.

The Bill, explained Bates in detail, sidelines the six million UK adults who still smoke today. This is the group at greatest risk, yet the legislation weakens their access to safer alternatives like vaping and nicotine pouches. Instead of accelerating cessation, the Bill risks entrenching smoking. Alongside the TFG, it throws a heavy punch at vaping, and many argue it lands squarely in the wrong place.

Misplaced priorities
Disposable vapes—lifelines for an estimated 2.6 million adults trying to quit smoking—are being swept off the shelves. A new tax, £2.20 per 10ml of liquid, makes vaping pricier and chips away at its financial advantage over cigarettes. Meanwhile, a blanket advertising ban strips away one of the only avenues to tell smokers there’s a safer option. Talk of flavour restrictions threatens to kill the very spark that helps people switch, while extending smoking bans to vaping blurs two very different risks into one.

And still, the UK clings to its ban on snus, despite years of evidence from Scandinavia showing it can drive smoking rates to record lows. To critics, the picture is clear: this isn’t a roadmap to a smokefree future—it’s a set of roadblocks pushing people back toward the very habit policymakers claim to be fighting.

Like several studies before it, a recent Cochrane Review found strong evidence that vapes are more effective than nicotine replacement therapy in helping smokers quit. Public Health England has long maintained that vaping is at least 95% less harmful than smoking. Yet the Bill ignores such evidence, replacing harm reduction with punitive restrictions that risk driving smokers back to cigarettes.

Protecting kids or failing smokers?
The government’s focus on youth vaping obscures a key fact: smoking among young people is already declining, partly (if not mainly) due to vaping uptake. Studies suggest youth vaping often displaces smoking rather than creating new long-term nicotine users. But instead of embracing this harm-reduction trend, policymakers are undermining it.

Labour, Conservatives, and Liberal Democrats have all supported restrictions framed as decisive action. Yet across the political spectrum, critics argue these policies are more about optics than outcomes. Symbolic gestures like the TFG may look bold but achieve little for public health.

A better way forward
Evidence suggests a more pragmatic path is possible. Instead of pursuing a generational ban, lawmakers could adopt a Tobacco21 policy, raising the legal age of sale from 18 to 21, while building in sunset clauses and regular reviews to catch unintended consequences. Controlled advertising could highlight vaping as a safer choice, and preserving flavours—while cracking down on youthoriented branding—would keep products appealing to adult smokers trying to quit.

Crucially, the UK could finally legalise snus, a product that has helped Sweden achieve the lowest smoking rates in Europe. Most importantly, policies should prioritise support for the six million adults who still smoke today, rather than chasing symbolic restrictions aimed at future generations. A proposal in the House of Lords highlights another option: embedding age-verification technology in vape devices to restrict underage use while preserving adult access. Though complex, such innovations offer a more balanced path than outright prohibition.

The UK’s Tobacco and Vapes Bill risks repeating the failures of prohibition by creating illicit markets, straining enforcement, and discouraging smokers from switching to safer alternatives. With seizures of illegal products surging, it is clear that restrictive policies are backfiring. To truly reduce smoking-related disease, policymakers should focus on evidence-based harm reduction: empowering adult smokers to quit, promoting safer nicotine options, and regulating markets responsibly. Anything less risks leaving the UK with more smoke, more harm, and fewer solutions.