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Are Disposable Vapes Harmful?

What Are Disposable Vapes?

Disposable vapes provide an easy and simple vaping solution, which does not require any prior knowledge of vaping. All users need to do is simply purchase the disposable e-cigarette and start vaping. It’s as simple as that. Additionally, there is no need to fill or charge the devices or change the coils.

Despite the hype and popularity of disposables, which began mid-2021, disposable e-cigarettes have been available for years. What made them popular this time round was they were able to compete with traditional vape devices in terms of flavour and draw quality. There is also a wider selection of flavours, when compared to earlier disposables. Finally, modern disposables have continued to support the transition to nicotine salts, as they generally only use nicotine salt based e-liquids. Nic salt is a more natural form of nicotine that allows users to vape higher strengths without a harsh throat hit. They also provide a more instantaneous nicotine hit.

Are Disposable E-Cigarettes Harmful or Dangerous?

Disposables which are TPD compliant and approved by the MHRA should not be harmful or injurious to health as they have been subject to stringent guidelines and testing procedures. Unfortunately, though, like anything which becomes popular, replica, fake and non-genuine disposables have become available, and these could potentially pose a health risk. Most of the time, they are imported via nonofficial channels and sold on the underground economy. There is no trace to the original source, and they are not tested, meaning anything could be in them.

How To Avoid Non-Official Disposables?

The following guidelines should be followed to avoid replica or non-genuine disposables.

  • Always purchase disposables from a specialist e-cigarette retailer
  • Request TPD reports if in doubt and ensure the ECID numbers are recognised by the MHRA
  • Check to see if the packaging has details of the importer and then check if that importer is legit
  • Avoid non-official vape channels
  • Refer to the manufacturer's website to see if the product is legit and not a replica
  • Check to see if the brand is registered and approved by the MHRA
  • Avoid e-marketplaces or any other channel that uses UPC as a sole method of authenticity 

Any product that has the following specifications is likely to be illegal and non-tested

  • Puffs more than 600, for example, 5000 puffs
  • Over 20mg nicotine strength
  • A disproportional battery capacity. For example, if a disposable has a 2500mAh capacity and continues the vape until the battery runs out, its likely that it has more than 2ml of e-liquid within it.

Any legal disposable device should not be able to produce more than 600 puffs and cannot legally have a higher nicotine content than 20mg. This does not apply to 0mg disposables which fall out the scope of TPD. However, due to the existence of consumer law, they should still be tested.

Retailers or distributors who sell illegal, non-official disposables should be reported to your local Trading Standards office,