Scots shops have been urged to stop selling single-use vapes amid growing concern over the environmental havoc they cause.
Eco and health charities united to call on Scotland’s retailers to follow the lead of supermarket giant Waitrose, which last month announced it would take the products off their shelves.
It comes as the Daily Record recently launched our Bin The Vapes campaign calling for disposable e-cigs to be outlawed after Scotland’s streets became a plastic dumping ground.
The Scottish Government has since launched an urgent review headed by Zero Waste Scotland into the impact of the devices which have been linked to issues such as litter, plastic waste and fire risk.
We previously told how Scots campaigner Laura Young - nicknamed the “vape crusader” - spent months highlighting the growing litter blight from the gadgets which have exploded in popularity in recent years, with 1.3million thrown away in the UK every week.
Ms Young said: “Single-use and disposable electronic devices have no place in a world striving for a circular economy and net zero emissions.
“They must be removed from market, for both public health and environmental reasons.
“Until this happens, we will continue to see non-compliant brands and retailers, litter on our streets, waste on an enormous scale, and risks to our waste industries.”
Barry Fisher, chief executive of Keep Scotland Beautiful, said: “The time to act is now. We know that 87 per cent of Scottish people believe litter is an issue across the country.
“Scotland is currently facing a litter emergency and single-use vapes are an unwelcome addition.
“That's why we are calling on all Scottish retailers to ban sales of the product.”
Elliott Welch, of the Marine Conservation Society, added: “The shift from reusable vapes to disposable versions is worrying for marine life, as well as human health.
“Disposable vapes are not being recycled as they should and are instead being littered on streets and beaches, finding their way into the sea and polluting our marine environment.”
Sheila Duffy, boss of anti-smoking charity ASH Scotland, warned marketing of cheap, sweet-flavoured and brightly-coloured devices was "driving a huge increase in youth experimentation with vaping".
She added: “Nicotine is highly addictive and many disposable vapes include toxic chemicals that have not been safety tested for inhalation.”
Jade Symonds, trading manager at Waitrose, said: “Not participating in the single-use vaping market is something we felt strongly about due to the environmental impact and also the risk these products pose in appealing to younger, non-smokers."
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