Exploring the potential consequences of the disposable vape ban in the UK: a qualitative study with young adults who use disposable vapes

In response to a rise in youth vaping, the United Kingdom government announced a disposable vapes ban from the 1st June 2025. It is not clear how this will impact the 1.6 - 2.6 million adults in the United Kingdom who use disposable vapes. The ban could discourage youth vaping, but could have unintended impacts among adults, including adverse effects on smoking and vaping behaviour. In this qualitative study, we recruited and interviewed 22 young adults (aged 18-30) residing in the United Kingdom who regularly used disposable vapes and were either: never-smokers, ex-smokers, or dual-users. We explored the experiences and opinions of participants using online semi-structured interviews. The interviews explored participants’ experiences of vaping and smoking, what they might do once disposable vapes are banned, and how they thought the ban would impact other people. The data was analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Three themes were constructed relating to our research aims: “reasons for using disposable vapes”, “personal impacts of the ban”, and “wider impacts of the ban”. Participants were largely supportive of the ban due to the rise in disposable vape use among young people. Many young adults said they would switch to reusable/rechargeable vapes after the ban. Mostly dual-users, but also some participants who had never regularly smoked and one ex-smoker, said they might or would smoke cigarettes instead. Some suggested the ban would reduce current illegal sales of disposable vapes and others thought it may increase them. This study suggests the ban could have intended and unintended consequences for young adults who use disposable vapes, including increasing the use of cigarettes among some of these individuals. The findings highlight areas for future observational studies investigating the impacts of the ban and could aid identification of mitigating factors of unintended consequences.