UK Environmental Protection Organization Calls for Prohibition of the Use of Disposable Electronic Cigarettes

UK Environmental Protection Organization Calls for Prohibition of the Use of Disposable Electronic Cigarettes

According to foreign reports, British environmental protection organizations have called for a ban on the sale of disposable electronic cigarettes because of their rapidly escalating threat to the environment.

In an open letter to Teresa Coffey, the environment minister, and Steve Barclay, the health minister, 18 environmental and health organizations, including the Green Alliance and RSPCA, believed that disposable electronic cigarettes were unnecessary electronic products, including disposable plastics, and batteries, all of which were littering and would cause harm to the environment and wildlife.

Earlier this year, the research of Material Focus showed that at least 1.3 million disposable e-cigarettes were discarded every week, equivalent to two e-cigarettes per second, enough to fill 22 football fields every year.

The letter also pointed out that the growing acceptance of disposable electronic cigarettes among young people is particularly worrying. Since 2021, the proportion of young people aged 11 to 17 years old choosing disposable products has increased sevenfold.

They said that since reusable electronic cigarettes are available in the UK and there are brands like Juul, banning the use of disposable electronic cigarettes (such as the popular Elf Bar) will not hinder the efforts of public health departments to make people quit smoking.

However, Christopher Snowden, head of lifestyle economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), said that disposable electronic cigarettes would not pose a threat to health, but were very important to help smokers who wanted to quit smoking.

"For smokers who are trying electronic cigarettes for the first time, disposable products are the most attractive choice." He said, especially when they are simple, convenient and cheap.

The UK Ministry of Public Health has previously concluded that electronic cigarettes are about 95% safer than smoking.

This was also echoed by the Cancer Research Center of the UK, which admitted that electronic cigarettes are closer to other  replacement therapy (NRT) products in terms of harm than tobacco.

The latest data of Action on Smoking and Health found that 2.4 million people who have smoked electronic cigarettes were once smokers, accounting for the vast majority of 4.3 million Britons who are now actively smoking electronic cigarettes.