Disposable vapes are on the chopping block as part of plans to curb the soaring number of young people taking up vaping, the government announces.
Measures will also be rolled out to prevent vapes being marketed at children and to crack down on underage sales.
Figures from the Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) charity suggest 7.6% of 11 to 17-year-olds now vape regularly or occasionally, up from 4.1% in 2020.
The ban is expected to be enforced across the UK, the government said.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is expected to unveil the plans during a visit to a school on Monday.
“As any parent or teacher knows, one of the most alarming trends at the moment is the rise in vaping among children, and so we must act before it becomes rampant,” he said in a statement.
It follows last year’s announcement of a ban on the sale of cigarettes to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009 as part of an attempt to create a “smoke-free generation”.
It is already illegal to sell any vape to anyone under 18, but the government said disposable vapes – often sold in smaller, more flashy packaging than refillable ones – are a “key driver behind the shocking rise in youth vaping”.
It is not yet clear when the ban will be introduced, but it could be brought in using existing legislation designed to protect the environment.
Campaigners have long argued that disposable vapes are wasteful and that the materials and chemicals used to make them, including their lithium batteries, make them hard to dispose of safely.
Once the timing is confirmed, retailers will be given six months to implement it.
The latest changes would also introduce powers to stop refillable vapes being sold in a flavour marketed at children and to require that they be produced in simpler, less attractive packaging.
The government will also be able to mandate that shops display refillable vapes out of sight of children and away from other products they might buy, like sweets.
A further public consultation will take place to decide which flavours should be banned and how refillable vapes will be sold, the government said.
Among the child-friendly vape flavours currently available are those inspired by cookies, jam and energy drinks.
To help stop underage sales, extra fines will be brought in for any shops in England and Wales caught selling vapes illegally to children.
Vaping alternatives like nicotine pouches – small white pouches that are placed between the lip and gum – will also be banned for children. The pouches release nicotine but do not contain tobacco, so can currently be legally sold to under-18s.
While vaping is considerably less harmful than smoking, it has not been around for long enough for its long-term risks to be known, according to the NHS.
Health leaders will nevertheless be eager to ensure that the new measures do not make it harder for adult smokers to switch to vaping as an alternative.
This is where the consultation over how far to go with restrictions on flavours and displays in shops will be crucial.
The announcement follows an initial consultation launched late last year by the UK government and devolved administrations to gauge public attitudes to measures being proposed to reduce levels of smoking and vaping.
The government said almost 70% of respondents supported a ban on disposable vapes.
