UK - Vaping vs Cigarettes

Ongoing research is making it clear: banning disposable vapes could lead young adults to switch to cigarettes.

In response to rising concerns about youth vaping, the United Kingdom introduced a ban on disposable vapes last year. While the ban was intended to curb underage use, its possible impact on around the 2.5-million adults in the UK who rely on disposable vapes is unclear.

After the ban, it became illegal to sell or supply a disposable vape in the UK, but reusable vapes that can be recharged and refilled continued to be legal to sell. Before the ban was announced, reusable vapes were also available, but refills were mainly sold in specialist vape shops and online, with limited availability in supermarkets.

The new qualitative research, published in PLOS Global Public Health in March, sheds light on how young adults anticipated the ban might affect them, according to a release from the University of Bristol. It is thought to be the first study to explore how people who used disposable vapes viewed the UK ban and how they expected to respond.

The paper, titled Exploring The Potential Consequences Of The Disposable Vape Ban In The Uk: A Qualitative Study With Young Adults Who Use Disposable Vapes, was authored by Richie J. Carr, Sara W. Alattar, Lana A. Al-Rifai, Hazel Morfett, and Jasmine Khouja and published in PLOS Global Public Health.

Risk of Increased Smoking

Researchers interviewed 22 regular disposable vape users aged 18 to 30, including people who had never smoked, used to smoke, and who favored dual-use vapes and cigarettes. Through online semi-structured interviews, participants reflected on their vaping and smoking behaviors, how they expected to adapt post-ban, and what wider effects they anticipated.

A key finding from the study is the risk of increased smoking. "Some dual-users, and a smaller number of never-regular smokers and one ex-smoker, said they might return to, or increase, cigarette smoking instead of switching to reusable vaping products."

The study suggests that while the ban might achieve its intended benefits, particularly in reducing use among younger people, the university pointed out, "it could also lead to unintended consequences for young adult users. These include potential increases in cigarette smoking among some individuals."

Dr. Jasmine Khouja, a researcher on the study while at the University of Bristol and one of the co-authors, said the disposable vape ban "did not aim to encourage the use of cigarettes, other nicotine products, or illicit markets, yet some young adults considered these options in anticipation of the ban in June 2025. Our findings could help guide future research on the impacts of the disposable vape ban and inform efforts to reduce unintend ed consequences of the ban."

Richie Carr, one of the study's researchers and corresponding author, added: "Our study offers an important insight into how banning disposable vapes in the UK could affect young adult users. While many participants indicated they would switch to alternative vaping products, some said they might instead turn to cigarettes."

The young adult sample provided a "rich insight," the university commented, "but its makeup, mainly white females aged 18 to 22, with about half from the University of Bristol, limits how far the findings can be applied to other genders, ethnicities, and older adults."

The researchers suggest future studies should explore how the ban affects a wider range of age groups using a more diverse participant group, the release noted. Research should also objectively measure the impact of the implemented ban on behavioral changes such as smoking initiation, smoking frequency, use of other nicotine products, and illicit product use.

'Unintended Consequences'

Given the popularity of disposable vapes among youths, PLOS Global Public Health noted in an abstract, the ban could effectively discourage youth vaping or encourage use of more sustain able vaping products. "However, this policy may have unintended consequences, particularly for the 2.7-million adults who used to smoke cigarettes and rely on vaping as a harm reduction tool. Among them, 28% use vapes to aid smoking cessation, while 21% rely on them to prevent relapse. Removing disposable vapes could have limited accessibility of vapes and risked relapse to smoking for adults who were trying to stop smoking."

As a result of the ban, if a reusable device ran out of e-liquid "a person may have been faced with the choice of experiencing withdrawal, purchasing a costly new starter pack, or opting for the cheaper but more harmful option of buying a pack of cigarettes." While it was "uncertain" how those who have never smoked but were addicted to nicotine would react if they lost access to their usual product, it "could have led to the use of more harmful nicotine products, potentially increasing health risks rather than reducing them."

The ban could also have affected up to 1.2-million adults who currently smoked, some of whom may have been young adults who also vaped, "potentially disrupting their harm-reduction strategies. Research has suggested that product diversity and the ability to personalize vaping experiences are critical factors in user satisfaction. Restricting consumer choice by banning disposables may therefore impact the effectiveness of vaping as a smoking cessation tool, ultimately impacting broader public health objectives."