An impending UK ban on disposable vapes will affect one in seven young adults, according to new research. 

The proposal, recently announced by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, will affect an estimated one in 20 adults across the nation. 

A study, funded by Cancer Research UK, found a recent surge in young adults using disposable vapes - some of whom had never smoked tobacco before. 

But the researchers behind the study warn that a ban on disposable vapes, which Mr Sunak says will aim to stamp out vaping in children, could make would-be vapers turn to more harmful alternatives such as tobacco smoking. 

The study, published in the journal Public Health, surveyed more than 69,000 adults across England, Wales and Scotland between January 2021 and August last year. 

They found that the number of adults using dispoable vapes or e-cigarettes of brands such as Lost Mary, ElfBar and SKE Crystal, significantly rose between the beginning and end of the study - from 0.1% to 4.9%. 

The increase was particularly prominent in young adults aged between 18 and 24, with 14.4% using disposable vapes in 2023, as well as among smokers (16.3%) and those who had stopped smoking in the past year (18.2%).

Though disposable vapes were rarely used by adults who had never regularly smoked (1.5%), a hefty proportion of young adults used the products despite never having regularly smoked. 

Mr Sunak has blamed disposable vapes - which are often believed to be marketed towards children with colourful packaging and sweet, fruity flavours - are behind the 'very worrying rise' in the number of children who vape across the nation. 

He has announced plans for a ban on the smoking alternative which, if approved by parliament, is expected to come into force by next year. 

The proposed ban follows last year's announcement of a proposed ban on the sale of cigarettes to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009, as part of attempts to create a 'smoke-free generation'.

Though vaping is said to be substantially less harmful than smoking, it has not yet been around long enough for any long-term health risks to be assessed.

The vapour inhaled by users of most disposable vapes still contains chemicals found in cigarettes, including nicotine - which is addictive but not seen by the NHS as one of the most problematic ingredients in cigarettes.

Figures from the Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) charity suggest 7.6% of 11 to 17-year-olds now vape regularly or occasionally, up from 4.1 per cent in 2020.

Dr Sarah Jackson, a lead author of the study from University College London's Institute of Epidemiology & Health Care, estimated the proposed ban would affect around 2.6 million Brits in total across England, Wales and Scotland. 

"This group includes about 316,000 18- to 24-year-olds who currently use disposables but who have never regularly smoked tobacco," Dr Jackson explained. 

"However, it also includes 1.2 million people who currently smoke and would benefit from switching to e-cigarettes completely, and a further 744,000 who previously smoked and may be at risk of relapse.

"While banning disposables might seem like a straightforward solution to reduce youth vaping, it could have substantial unintended consequences for people who smoke.

"In the event of a ban, it would be important to encourage current and ex-smokers who use disposables to switch to other types of e-cigarettes rather than going back to just smoking tobacco.

"In addition, we found disposable use to be particularly prevalent among recent ex-smokers with a history of mental health conditions. 

"This group may require targeted support to help them avoid relapse."

The researchers used data from the Smoking Toolkit Study, in which a sample of 2,450 adults in Great Britain representative of the general population are interviewed each month. 

They found that disposable vape use was significantly higher amongst adults living in England than in Wales or Scotland (5.3% vs. 2.0% and 2.8% at the end of the study period) and among those from less advantaged social grades (6.1% vs. 4.0%). 

Those with children were also found to be more likely to vape than those without (6.4% vs. 4.4%), as well as those with a history of mental health conditions than those without (9.3% vs. 3.1%).

Until recently, the authors noted very few adult vapers in Great Britain used disposable products. 

However, in 2021, new disposable e-cigarettes entered the market with designs and branding ostensibly appealing to young people, causing their use to skyrocket across the UK and elsewhere. 

The products are available widely in high-street corner shops and supermarket chains and are often promoted with colourful in-store displays. 

Whilst convenient, easy to use and with a low upfront cost, the vapes have also turned into a huge environmental problem - with millions of the devices, which are not easily recyclable, discarded across the UK every week. 

But Professor Jamie Brown, another senior author from the UCL Institute of Epidemiology & Health Care, says the impending ban on disposable vapes could tempt many into either returning to or taking up tobacco smoking, which remains legal. 

"There is a need for action to reduce disposable vaping among young people who have never smoked," he said. 

"However, trade-offs need to be carefully considered. 

"A ban may discourage the use of e-cigarettes among people trying to quit smoking and may induce relapse among those who have already used disposables to quit. 

"Cigarettes are far more harmful to our health and are not currently banned and a ban on disposable e-cigarettes may signal to large numbers of people that these products are worse for our health or that their harm is comparable to that caused by smoking tobacco. 

"I favour a range of alternative policies, in the first instance, allied with rapid evaluation to judge whether these are sufficient to achieve reductions in youth vaping."

The researchers outlined other additional measures to strengthen the regulation of disposable vapes that could reduce the risks of unintended consequences, such as ex-smokers relapsing back to smoking. 

These included a ban on branding that appeals to children by incorporating bright colours, sweet names, and cartoon characters, prohibiting the promotion of e-cigarettes in shops, putting e-cigarettes out of sight and reach of children, and putting an excise tax on disposables to raise the price to the same level as the cheapest reusable e-cigarettes. 

Defining disposables may also prove problematic, so the researchers suggested a minimum unit price may be more a straightforward alternative to reduce their affordability. 

In the government's recent announcements on the proposed ban, measures aimed at preventing vapes from being marketed at children and keeping them out of sight of children were mentioned. 

Health Secretary Victoria Atkins has said she was confident the ban would pass Parliament by the time of the general election - expected to take place later this year - and could come into force by early 2025.