Vapers blast Labour's plans to ban disposable vapes as 'absolute claptrap' and accuse the government of driving them back to smoking cigarettes - but demand 'guilty' litter louts take responsibility f

Vapers have slammed Labour's plans to ban disposable vapes branding them an 'absolute claptrap' as they accuse the government of pushing them back to cigarettes. From next July it will be illegal to sell disposable vapes such as Elf bars and Lost Mary in a bid to prevent schoolchildren getting hooked on e-cigarettes and to reduce littering Some of the vapes found on the streets by Aberdeenshire Council who say they clear up 25,000 of the devices each month Currently around 360 million single-use vapes are sold each year in the UK with many left littering the streets She added: 'I used to wheeze at night but I don't wheeze now. Ian Gaunt from Birmingham, who used to smoke 30 cigarettes a day: 'I don't think it will the people I know who vape tend to use the non disposable vapes 'I have never been inclined to use the disposable ones so no it won't be a problem for me 'I think people committed vapers who used it to give up smoking cigarettes I think they will move to non disposable vapes. Disposable vapes have also been linked to fires in bin lorries among other places NHS Digital data, based on the smoking, drinking and drug use among young people in England survey for the year 2021, showed 30 per cent of children in Yorkshire and the Humber have used a vape He added: 'They shouldn't discard them its not good for the planet we should all do our bit to protect the planet.' This is up on 7.7 per cent last year and twice as high as rates seen a decade ago, before the UK's kid vaping epidemic blew up A Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 2023 health report showed 12.7 per cent of Brits over the age of 15 smoke cigarettes daily, far higher than the US and New Zealand More than 40 tonnes of lithium, used in the batteries, was thrown out with disposable vapes in 2022 — enough to power around 5,000 electric vehicles Rishi Sunak initially announced plans to ban disposable vapes in January but Labour did not mention the policy in its election manifesto.