Scottish Greens welcome Glasgow call for disposable vape ban
A ban on single-use disposable vapes would benefit people and planet, say the Scottish Greens.
This comes as Glasgow City Council has voted to support action up to and including a ban on disposable vapes. The vote followed a motion introduced by Scottish Green councillors Jon Molyneux and Holly Bruce.
Last month Dundee City Council became the first in Scotland to call for a ban.
Commenting on the vote, Cllr Jon Molyneux said:
“Single-use vapes are unnecessary – and the all-too-obvious evidence on our streets is that they are giving rise to another harmful throwaway culture. So, I’m delighted that Environment Committee members in Glasgow agreed unanimously to support the Scottish Greens in calling for a ban.
“We obviously hope the Scottish Government’s urgent review results in a ban – but that shouldn’t also stop Councils acting now. We heard that trading standards officers in Glasgow have seized around 13,000 illegal or non-compliant vapes in the last few months.
"Action should also be taken to restrict certain types of business, like sweet shops, from being able to sell these products.”
The Scottish Greens health spokesperson, Gillian Mackay MSP said:
“Disposable vapes are bad for people and planet. There is no excuse for the obscene and totally avoidable levels of waste they produce.
“Glasgow is Scotland’s biggest city, and it is great to see such a major Council taking a stand. It sets an important precedent that we hope other councils will follow, and adds weight to the growing calls for a ban.
“It also underlines the vital work that Scottish Green councillors are doing to drive change in their communities.”
Wording of the motion agreed by Glasgow City Councillors:
Committee instructs officers to engage with the Scottish Government on its urgent review of the environmental impacts and management of single-use vapes, expressing committee support for a proposed ban on single-use vapes, and to support measures to ban their sale or to the extent that is not legally possible to effectively reduce their harmful impacts.
Committee also instructs the Chair of the committee to write to the Scottish Government expressing committee support for a proposed ban on single-use vapes, instructs officers to prepare a paper outlining any policy implications of a ban for the City Council and to prepare a Council communications campaign highlighting the environmental and health impacts of single-use vapes.
