Businesses across the country were banned from selling or supplying single-use vapes, also known as disposable vapes, from 1 June 2025.
The ban will impact our communities in several ways, including on trading standards, the environment and fire safety.
Here in West Sussex, the county council’s Trading Standards teams run an initiative that tackles the sale of illegal vapes, especially sales to children by rogue businesses.
Launched in 2023, the initiative focuses on disrupting the supply of such vapes and illicit tobacco and has now expanded its remit to include enforcement of the new ban on the sale of single-use vapes.
Between April 2024 and March 2025, Trading Standards officers in the county carried out 72 test purchases to see whether retailers who offer age-restricted products such as vapes and cigarettes were complying with the law. During this time they seized more than 10,000 illegal vapes.
Over 21 tonnes of disposable vapes were thrown away in the past year in West Sussex alone. The individual components of the vapes can’t be separated and so can’t be recycled and the lithium-ion batteries used are highly flammable, especially when damaged, and have been known to cause fires in waste collection lorries and at waste processing centres.
To minimise their impact, vapes should be disposed of following Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations. Trading Standards are reminding retailers who sell vapes that they must comply with their obligations under these regulations by providing a dedicated waste bin, displaying posters about availability of the waste bins, having an approved waste contractor to collect and dispose of the vapes and keeping records for up to 4 years. Retailers that fail to comply could face unlimited fines.
Councillor Duncan Crow, Cabinet Member for Community Support, Fire and Rescue said: “Our Trading Standards teams are working to enforce the ban on the sale and supply of single-use vapes. This is part of their ongoing efforts to protect our communities from the harmful effects of such products.
“The ban should hopefully reduce the number of single-use vapes products in circulation, which in turn will reduce the risk of fires in waste lorries and processing centres and help protect our environment. For people continuing to use legal vapes, please follow the advice on how to safely dispose of them.”
You can report suspected illegal trading in West Sussex to our Trading Standards team online or by calling Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 0808 223 1133.
