Liverpool's foremost health expert said the banning of single-use vape pens "would be best for everyone" as Britain works towards a cleaner, greener future.
Campaigners have taken a stand against the popular yet environmentally harmful products, which contain lithium batteries, copper and plastic, as hundreds of thousands of them are thrown away each week - and are often seen "clogging up the gutter" on city streets.
The Director of Public Health for Liverpool, Professor Matthew Ashton, said: “It would be best for everyone that these were banned due the damage they cause the environment. Until that point we would always ask that people dispose of their litter responsibly, and recycle where possible. Littering also costs local authorities money - money which would be better spent on front line services helping the most vulnerable in our communities."
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A 2022 study by UK campaign group Recycle Your Electricals found that up to 1.3m disposable vapes are thrown away each week, adding up to 67.6m each year - with the discarded lithium being equivalent to the batteries inside 1,200 electric vehicles.
The vapes are fully recyclable, but the study showed more than half of all users threw them in the bin instead.
However, local vape shop owners said banning the products could take away a vital lifeline for smokers hoping to kick the habit once and for all.
Adam Williams, owner of Rojeans in Cavern Walks, said: "Disposables, in my view, are a stepping stone from a harmful method of smoking to a less harmful method of smoking. You assume they've tried other ways of giving up. E-cigarettes are usually a last resort.
"The trouble is there's a lack of awareness. There's not enough recycling. If you go to a reputable vape shop, they all have recycling bins - disposables are 100% recyclable. But they're not recyclable when you find them clogging up the gutters. You see it a lot."
Both disposable and non-disposable vapes contain lithium batteries, however, non-disposable products can be refilled and reused, unlike the single-use disposables which only last for around 600 puffs.
The popularity of such products has skyrocketed in the past year, being used by 15.2% of adults in 2022 compared to 2.2% in 2021, according to the Office for Health, Improvement and Disparities.
Liam Humberstone, technical director of Totally Wicked Vapes on Tarleton Street, said: "The reason (disposables) are so popular is they're incredibly easy to use, compared to a refillable one. It's for people who would otherwise not have thought about vaping because they found it too much of a faff.
"It's that very simple usability that has made them so popular. But the downside is the environmental impact. Lithium batteries ought to be recharged 100 times, so the idea of throwing it away without recharging it once is a bit daft.
"Our main market is in non-disposables, but we have seen a big increase in the last year in terms of sales for disposables. We sold hardly any disposables until about 18 months ago, and the growth has been massive, but interestingly we haven't seen any downturn in non-disposable sales. This seems to suggest there are a lot of people who have come to vaping in the last year or so.
"We think they're largely social smokers - people who smoke on the weekend or on nights out. Rather than picking up a packet of cigarettes, they're picking up a disposable e-cigarette instead."
He added: "I think there is a very good argument for them being banned. In many ways I'd be happy to see disposables go, but the downside is that there will be people who smoke instead. There has to be a balance. We try to make sure we have non-disposable options available for anyone coming in, things with similar flavour profiles, and we've had a lot of success with that."
Adam, who chooses not to stock disposable vapes on ethical grounds, nonetheless said: "They shouldn't be banned, but they should be sold more responsibly. It's a safer alternative to smoking if it's sold as it should be. It should not be sold to non-smokers or people who are underage with a view to getting them addicted in the future. They would be taking away one of the small tools in the toolbox that would help a smoker transition."
Professor Ashton added: “New guidance on vaping does show that it’s considered a safer option than smoking, which could help more smokers to quit, but that does not mean it’s a healthy habit in itself. We know vaping’s appeal has grown with teenagers, the flipside to that is by damaging your lungs at a young age guarantees a one-way ticket to pain that will greatly reduce your quality of life as you get older.
“We are in the process of tendering for a new smoking cessation service in Liverpool, which includes a vaping pilot. This would see people given proper advice how these products could help them to stop smoking.
“We always recommend accessing expert advice from our smoking cessation service to quit smoking or indeed e-cigarettes, as we don’t want to see a situation where one harmful habit is replaced by another.
“Accessing nicotine replacement products (in many cases for free), such as patches or gum and accessing one to one support helps thousands of people quit each year, and smokers and vapers can contact Smokefree Liverpool via telephone or online for free."
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