Middlesbrough among the 'vaping capitals' of the UK
A study has listed the town fourth place
We are hearing how Middlesbrough is among the 'vaping capitals' of the UK.
Online vape store Go Smoke Free, used GOV.UK's Companies House advanced search feature to find businesses registered for the retail sale of tobacco products in specialised stores in the UK. The number of these active businesses was then compared to each town or city’s population size.
The analysis showed Middlesbrough came fourth for having 22 registered shops serving around around 177,000 residents.
A spokesperson for Go Smoke Free commented:
"Disposable vapes have gained popularity in recent years, due to their convenience, portability and low cost, which has made them an attractive option for those who would otherwise have been unlikely to invest in a more complex vaping setup.
“The new disposable vape ban should help to discourage children from taking up vaping, while encouraging adults to shift to more sustainable alternatives, such as refillable vapes."
Further along Teesside though, a group of people near Redcar is hoping the ban on disposable vapes will reduce the number that is chucked in public.
Matt Stilwell is the team leader of South Gare Litter Pickers and said: "We've seen a ban on nitrous oxide canisters and we've seena reduction of those. We're not finding them as often now which is great, so I would imagine this would follow suit. It would be nice to see that happen.
"They're becoming a real problem. We're seeing it grow and grow and grow. We're seeing more of these on the floor and we're picking them up. They're difficult to get rid of because we can't just stick them into normal bags and get rid of them, we have to take them to a Waste, Electronic and Electrical equipment bins and get rid of them that way.
"It's definitely escalated. The last weekend we went out we probably picked up something in the region of 20 to 30 items which were related to these disposable vapes.
"I mean we're going to end up living in a society where waste is all around us if we don't do something about it now. The most common sense thing to do is to put it in a bin, not throw it out the car window as you're going down the road, just put it in a bin."