The U.K. says it will ban disposable vapes and curb candy-flavoured e-cigarettes aimed at kids

A selection of colourful disposable vapes on display for sale in a souvenir shop in London, Monday, Jan. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

LONDON — Britain's government will ban the sale of disposable vapes and limit their cornucopia of flavours to prevent children from becoming addicted to nicotine, officials said Monday. It also plans to stick to a contentious proposal to ban today's young people from ever buying cigarettes.

It is currently illegal to sell vapes or tobacco to children under 18 in the U.K., but officials say that youth vaping has tripled in the past three years, and that cheap, colourful disposable vapes in flavours like bubblegum and candy floss are a "key driver."

"You talk to any parent or teacher, they'll talk to you about the worrying rise in vaping among children," Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told reporters. "Children shouldn't be vaping, we don't want them to get addicted. We still don't understand the full long-term health impacts of vaping. So it is right we take strong action to stamp this out."

Disposable vapes, or e-cigarettes, are behind an alarming rise in vaping among children under 18, Sunak said, with 9% of 11 to 15-year-olds now using vapes, according to figures provided by the government.

The nicotine contained within them can be highly addictive, officials said. Withdrawal sometimes causes anxiety, trouble concentrating and headaches.

The government said it will introduce new powers -- expected to come into effect next year -- to restrict flavours that are "specifically marketed at children," and ensure that manufacturers use plainer packaging and shops move the products out of sight of children. New fines will also be introduced for shops that sell vapes illegally to children.

Adults who wanted to use vapes as a tool to quit smoking would still be able to access vape kits, Sunak said.

"We have got the balance right, supporting adult smokers to stop smoking...but targeting all the things that make sure children don't have access to vapes," he said.

Sunak's government also said it will push on with a plan announced last year to gradually raise the minimum age to buy cigarettes, so that no one born after Jan. 1, 2009 can ever legally buy them.

Health experts welcomed the idea. However, it outraged some members of the Conservative Party who viewed it as excessive state intervention.

The plan was modeled on a proposal in New Zealand that was scrapped late last year after a change of government in that country.

The number of people in the U.K. who smoke has declined by two-thirds since the 1970s, but some 6.4 million people, or about 13% of the population, still smoke, according to official figures.

Last month, France's National Assembly unanimously approved a bill to ban single-use, disposable electronic cigarettes to protect young people attracted by their flavours.