Cornwall MP who vapes calls for people to dispose of e-cigarettes responsibly

A Cornwall MP, who started vaping as a method to quit smoking, is calling for people to stop littering disposable vapes.

It's after reports the Government is set to ban single-use e-cigarettes to stop nicotine addiction among children.

In an exclusive interview, MP for South East Cornwall Sheryll Murray told Pirate FM, people need to be "conscious" of disposing of them properly to prevent negative impact to the environment.

According to recent figures revealed by Material Focus, five million vapes are thrown away each week in the UK - a rise from 1.3 million.

Many of those are not being recycled properly.

MP Sheryll Murray told us: "It's just as bad as throwing cigarettes down.

"I do vape, I confess to doing that"

"It's the only thing that stopped me smoking cigarettes but I do use a reusable one.

"We need to be very conscious of littering. Of course, some of these disposable vapes are made from plastic so they don't disintegrate."

In the most recent Surfers Against Sewage Dirty Dozen annual report, where the charity identifies the brands most responsible for plastic pollution, this year was the first to find a significant number of vape and e-cigarette products, with 131 items logged in this category.

MP Sheryll Murray added: "The answer is, let people vape and choose how they behave but let's be responsible about throwing away any sort of rubbish, not just vapes. We do have to respect the environment in a responsible way.

"Let's all act responsible"

Healthy Cornwall are working with Cornwall Smoke Free Alliance to share information and best practice when it comes to vaping and educating young people and parents of the dangers.

Nachelle Nightingale, from Healthy Cornwall, said: "I think some parents may be under the impression that letting their children vape is better than them smoking. It's easy for young people to be buying vapes online so we're trying to work together to make parents aware it's something young people shouldn't be doing."

In 2022 the number of under 18’s using vapes rose to 7% compared to 4% in 2020.

Data reveals 33% of the 16-18 years olds that vape throw their vapes away in the bin at school or work - and 8% in that age group told Material Focus they drop single-use vapes on the ground.

Nachelle added: "We would certainly be encouraging adult smokers to move from smoking to vaping but they do need to make sure the vapes they're choosing are regulated by the Medicines and Health Product Regulatory Agency.

"It's not something non-smokers should be doing"

"There's now much more advice and guidance available than this time last year. There are resources for schools and professionals working with young people, produced by the Government, by Action on Smoking and Health."

For more information on advice around vaping, you can visit the Healthy Cornwall website.

You can hear all the latest news on the hour, every hour.