Dr Caroline Johnson, MP for Sleaford and North Hykenham, presents bill in parliament to stop sale of disposable e-cigarettes and vapes

An MP has presented her bill to parliament to ban the sale of disposable e-cigarettes and vapes, following concerns around young people's health and the environment.

Dr Caroline Johnson, MP for the Sleaford and North Hykeham constituency, which includes part of the Advertiser area, presented the ten-minute rule bill in Parliament on Wednesday.

Dr Johnson voiced her concerns over the “significant environmental harm” and the “effects on children’s health” that vapes and e-cigarettes have.

In her speech, Dr Johnson said: “The public health messaging is clear, smoking is bad for you. E-cigarette use is probably not as bad for you but we cannot be certain what the long term-effects on the individual is.

“The best option is neither to vape nor to smoke.

“It is crucial while vapes are used to encourage smokers to quit ­— we protect children and young people from being lured into a lifetime of addiction.”

Elf bars, the most popular vape brand sold in the UK, uses the equivalent of 20mg of nicotine, roughly equal to 40 to 50 cigarettes, which Dr Johnson highlighted in her speech opening.

Particular attention was also drawn to the vape flavours such as bubblegum and strawberry which appeal to a more “impressionable audience” such as young people.

Social media platforms such as TikTok also advertises them to younger people.

It was estimated that the sale of vapes produced a £2.8bn turnover, according to Dr Johnson.

Moving on from the health effects to the environmental impact, Dr Johnson added: “There is significant environmental harm.

“Disposable vapes have become part of the national embarrassment that we see everywhere, everyday littering our streets, our parks and our rivers like confetti.”

Dr Johnson also informed parliament it was estimated that 1.3 million vapes are thrown away each week, equivalent to two per second.

The second reading of Dr Johnson’s bill will be heard in the House of Commons on Friday, March 24.