Major supermarket bans sale of popular vaping products as part of huge rule change
A MAJOR supermarket has banned popular vaping products from its shelves in a huge rule change.
The chain said it will no longer sell them due to concerns over the “health of young people”.
Waitrose has announced it has stopped selling single-use vaping products, including two types of e-cigarettes.
Any item containing lithium – which had been formerly sold under the Ten Motives label – has now been removed from further stock.
The supermarket said: “Our move comes as reports suggest that the market growth is being fuelled by the popularity among those who haven’t previously smoked.”
Across the UK, vaping and e-cigarettes come under the same law as smoking.
This law states that it’s illegal to sell any tobacco products to someone under the age of 18.
Data from Action on Smoking (ASH) previously revealed that the number of kids vaping has increased.
The number of children that admitted to trying the products has risen from 14% in 2020 to 16% in 2022.
Waitrose commercial director Charlotte Di Cello said: “We are a retailer driven by doing the right thing, so selling single-use vapes is not something we could justify given the impact on both the environment and the health of young people.
“We had already decided it wasn’t right to stock the fashionable bright-coloured devices which are seeing rapid growth – so this decision is the final jigsaw piece in our clear decision not to be part of the single-use vaping market.”
At the moment Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Co op still sell single-use vapes.
Recent data from NHS Digital found that kids under the age of nine are being taken to hospital with breathing conditions linked to vaping.
Earlier this year the Sun on Sunday revealed the overall number of admissions recorded by hospitals linked to vaping has nearly doubled in 12 months.
Last year doctors recorded 344 cases. In 2019/20 there were 177 admissions.