A continuing trend which has been occurring over the course of the last few years is the number of adults choosing to quit smoking and use an e-cigarette as their preferred smoking cessation tool.
According to recent statistics, the number of adult smokers in the UK has decreased to the lowest it’s ever been, and the number of adult vapers has naturally increased with numbers hitting the highest it’s ever been last year.
One of the key things which we speculate has played a critical role in this is the sudden rise in popularity of disposable vapes.
These devices offer a great entry point for trying out vaping as they’re ready to go straight out of the packet without the need to buy coils or vape juice like a standard vape device would require.
Whilst disposable vapes are a convenient way to vape, they are realistically not the most affordable way to vape nor are they sustainable to the environment. On top of this, they also appear to be the route of the youth vaping issue which the government is attempting to tackle head on with new proposals potentially coming into effect in 2024.
We look at how disposable vape flavours have helped people quit smoking, why they may be getting banned in the UK and what other options there are to get around this ban so that you can see for yourself if disposable vape flavours can help you quit smoking in 2024.
The Popularity of Disposable Vapes Amongst Adults in England
Since around 2021, the popularity of disposable vapes has seen an astronomical rise and the amount of people using them as their preferred vape device has continued to rise year on year according to survey results.
An evidence review commissioned by Public Health England entitled “Nicotine vaping in England 2022” was published in September 2022 and it looked at several different areas surrounding vaping amongst adults in England.
Data was pulled from several national studies across England which showed that the popularity of disposable vapes had increased significantly, with 15.2% of adults admitting they use disposable vapes. This is seven-fold compared to the 2.2% reported a year prior in 2021.
By using this data alongside the fact that there are now more adult vapers in the UK than ever before, it’s clear to see that disposable vapes are obviously playing a part in helping people quit smoking, but how?
How Disposable Vapes Have Helped People Quit Smoking
Disposable vapes have been classed as “entry level” vape devices, as they offer people a convenient and cost-effective way to try out vaping before committing to buying a refillable vape kit.
Whilst vaping is more affordable than the cost of smoking, the initial outlay costs to get set up with vape starter kit can be expensive to some whereas the cost of buying a disposable vape is a pocket friendly cost which tempts many people in.
The average price of a disposable is around £6, and for this £6 you are getting a ready to go vape straight out of the packet that you don’t have to fill with vape juice or change coils around, they’re normally a case of removing the seal and rubber bung and you’re away!
However, whilst these may be a very convenient way to try vaping, they’re not a cost-effective way to vape if you use these as your singular vaping device due to the fact, they only contain 2ml of vape juice which when that’s used up, you’ll have to dispose of the device and buy a new one. This can soon add up if you’re spending £6 a day just on disposables as they normally won’t last longer than one day.
It’s not only the convenience factor of disposable vapes which make them appealing to people to use as a smoking cessation tool, the flavours used in these devices also play a key part as we explain below.
How Disposable Vape Flavours Can Help You Quit
Flavoured vape juice has been the catalyst in helping many adult smokers convert to vaping according to surveys.
Action on Smoking and Health conduct a yearly survey by asking questions to adult vapers to get an understanding of their behaviours when it comes to e-cigarette use.
The 2023 survey showed that 31% of adults said disposable vapes were their primary device used and 21% said that they use them to get the flavours they desire, this was second to convenience (32%)
The survey moved on to ask specifically about what flavour vape juice is preferrable, and fruit flavour e liquid reigned supreme with 47% admitting that’s what they use. To give an insight into how popular they are mint/menthol was second with 17% and tobacco was 12%.
8 years prior in 2015, it was a different story, with tobacco being the most popular choice, followed by fruit and then menthol, so a bit of a shake up as the years have passed but why is this?
Disposable vape flavours are commonly quite rich and sweet flavours and these hold a massive appeal to people wanting to get away from the taste of tobacco if they’re giving up smoking.
Opting to use a vape juice flavour that is not tobacco will resist the temptation to go back to smoking and can act as a distraction for the cravings to want to smoke as you won’t be getting a replicant taste of the cigarettes you previously smoked.
However, the delicious and tempting flavours of disposable vapes aren’t only appealing to adult vapers, they’re also hugely appealing to youths in England who are getting their hands on them and using them in abundance, and this is why there are calls for them to be banned.
These calls appear to have been listened to and proposals have been made to potentially ban the supply and sale of disposables in 2024 as per Rishi Sunak’s speech made in November 2023. We look at this in detail below.
Why Disposable Vapes May Be Banned in the UK
The boom in popularity of disposable vapes isn’t just amongst adults, as usage by 11-17-year-olds has increased rapidly over the course of the last few years.
Action on Smoking and Health also conduct surveys looking at youths behaviours towards vaping, and the results of these surveys have progressively become more concerning.
Results from a 2020 survey showed that just 7% of 11–17-year-olds admitted that they use a Disposable Vape. Moving along to 2022 survey results, and this number had increased more than 7 times to 52%.
2023’s survey results saw yet another leap up with a staggering 69% of youths admitting that a Disposable Vape was the device they used the most.
And it’s these statistics which have caused the government to intervene and introduce proposals which could see the supply and sale of disposable vapes banned in England.
Rishi Sunak announced a set of proposals in a bid to tackle the youth vaping problem head on and one of the key proposals which were made was the potential ban of sale of disposable vapes.
The reasoning behind this being that by removing disposable vapes from sale in England, this would eliminate the temptation of youngsters getting their hands on them and would hopefully see a drop in the amount of them using the brightly coloured and rich tasting devices.
However, this could cause a problem to adults who may be relying on them for smoking cessation as they wouldn’t be able to continue buying them should they get banned.
But there are now some fantastic options out there as a good alternative for disposable vapes to help quit smoking, and we sell them right here on LiQuid. Let us explain a few of the options available and why these could help you in your quest to quit.
The Best Alternatives for Disposable Vapes To Quit Smoking
We have established that flavoured vape juices are one of the key things which can help people continue to use them in their effort to quit smoking, so if disposables did get banned how would you still be able to enjoy these rich flavours? We have the answer…
Bar Salts & Other 10ml Disposable Vape Flavour Brands
Bar Salts are the latest range of vape juices we have introduced to our already impressive catalogue here at LiQuid. These have been inspired by the popular flavours of disposable vapes, but with our own spin put on them using the highest quality raw materials to produce incredible tasting e liquid!
As we discussed, using disposable vapes are not a cost-effective way to vape but using Bar Salts certainly is. For just £2, you get 10ml of premium quality nicotine salt vape juice. This is 1/3rd of the price of an Elf Bar so it’s an instant money saver.
We also stock a vast selection of other brands alongside Bar Salts which are popular disposable vape brands like Elux Legends and SKE Crystal Bars offering their great flavours in 10ml bottles as well as varied nicotine strengths, which normally are not an option with disposables.
Of course, if you buy yourself some of these incredible vape juices, you’re going to need a device to use them in, and we just so happen to have some great refillable vape devices on sale here at LiQuid.
Refillable Vape Devices
We have several great refillable vape devices which are like disposable vapes, and pair perfectly with our 10ml disposable vape flavour ranges.
Aspire R1 is the closest you’ll get to a disposable vape without it being one! Featuring the same bright colours on the outer casing, these devices are disposable after a certain amount of time but the difference being they are refillable as well as rechargeable!
Estimated to give over 5000 puffs, this is almost 10 times more than a standard disposable vape, and you can fill it with any 50/50 vape juice to enjoy. We recommend pairing this with Bar Salts vape juice to get a rich tasting, authentic disposable vape experience!
If you’re looking for a device which has a longer life than the R1, then we recommend the OXVA Xlim Pro which is one of the best-selling devices on the market today.
The Xlim Pro uses refillable pods which already have coils preinstalled, so you simply fill the pods with whatever vape juice you choose to use and it’s as easy as that! No need to get your hands messy with changing coils as the pods are disposable when the coil reaches the end of its life.
You can also adjust your wattage to the desired power level, meaning you can run it at a low wattage to replicate the power that disposables run at.
We have other great devices to choose from so take a browse for yourself and pick one that suits your budget and needs, pair it with any great flavour from our ranges and make the change from disposables today!
