The Scottish Government has confirmed that the sale of disposable vapes in Scotland will be banned from 1 June 2025.
The ban was initially planned for 1 April. Following pressure from trade associations, this has now been pushed back by two months to give retailers more time to prepare for the ban and sell through stock.
There will be no grace period, however, and retailers will be expected to remove all disposable vapes from sale before 1 June.
The news came a day after the UK Government announced a similar ban in England (24 October). Wales has also agreed a 1 June start date, and Ministers in Northern Ireland are expected to follow suit.
Scottish Health Secretary Neil Gray said: “We have worked closely across the four nations to ensure a consistent approach to a ban on the sale and supply of single-use vapes so we can provide certainty to businesses and consumers.”
Last year, it was estimated that almost five million single-use vapes were either littered or thrown away in general waste every week in the UK, almost four times as much as the previous year and the equivalent of eight being thrown away per second.
ACS Chief Executive James Lowman said: “We welcome the Government’s intention to provide businesses with enough time to prepare for the changes, including selling through existing product, working with suppliers to source alternative products and making structural changes to their displays in stores. This is still a challenging timetable for retailers and their supply chains, and we have developed comprehensive guidance on the ban which will be published shortly to help businesses with the transition.
“Once the ban is in place, it is essential that rogue sellers who are still selling disposable vaping products face the full force of the law and that Trading Standards enforcement teams are made aware as soon as possible, as these businesses undermine legitimate retailers.”
Mo Razzaq, National President of the Federation of Independent Retailers (the Fed), said: “Vape retailers are responsible, and many offer a recycling option. Rather than banning disposable vapes, the government should be looking at making available more ways that these products can be disposed of safely and in an environmentally friendly way.
“The Fed has previously called for the introduction of a disposal scheme – similar to the deposit return scheme for single use drinks containers – and we repeat this call today as we still believe that this would better address the government’s concerns on the environmental impact that single use vape products have.”
From 1 June, the only vaping products that will be available for sale legally in the UK must be refillable and rechargeable, and intended for multiple uses.
All retailers who sell vaping products must provide recycling facilities in their stores on at least a one-for-one basis.
