The Nanny State strikes again (2)

As of Sunday, it is now illegal to purchase disposable vapes in the UK (though, somewhat perversely, it de facto remains perfectly legal to cross the Channel in a dinghy or publicly call for the murder of Conservative MPs).

This latest instance of state overreach, arriving hot on the heels of Sunak’s progressive increases to the legal smoking age, prompts one to ask when legislation last – in this country – made people more free.

There are, however, some strong arguments in favour of the ban: these small plastic sticks of joy (usually flavoured in revoltingly sweet “fruit” varieties) each contain a lithium battery — a finite resource that is costly and difficult to recycle. Virtually all disposable vapes end up in landfill (leaking toxins into the soil or catching fire during processing) or littering the streets like bright, tubular gutter flowers. Five million are thrown out every week. It is possible, of course, to manage them more effectively, but reality dictates that the average teenager will not go out of their way to deposit a depleted pen at a recycling centre.

On teenagers, the evidence of their uptake is stark: schools are awash with them and almost 20 % of 15‑year‑olds are now regular users.

Interestingly, the percentage of 15‑year‑olds who smoke cigarettes has fallen to an all‑time low of just 3 % — perhaps this reduction in the far more dangerous of the two habits is something to be welcomed, not legislated against.

The Libertarian Party has already been contacted by a small, independent vape business 𝘪𝘯 𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴:

𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘚𝘪𝘳/𝘔𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘮,

𝘐’𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘷𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘜𝘒 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 2013. 𝘖𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦, 𝘸𝘦’𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 — 𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘴, 𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘺. 𝘞𝘦’𝘷𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘛𝘗𝘋 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴, 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴 — 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘝𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘋𝘶𝘵𝘺 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥.

𝘈𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘶𝘵 𝘶𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘴, 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘫𝘰𝘣𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘵-𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 £2.52 𝘥𝘶𝘵𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘳 10𝘮𝘭, 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘶𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 — 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨.

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘴:

𝘋𝘶𝘵𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦: 𝘚𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭-𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘹 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘮𝘴 — 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘥𝘶𝘵𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘶𝘵𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘴. 𝘔𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘴𝘰.

𝘋𝘶𝘵𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘴: 𝘐𝘧 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥, 𝘸𝘦’𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘢𝘹 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵 — 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳-𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘰𝘹𝘦𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 100𝘮𝘭 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦.

𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘶𝘵𝘺 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 — 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴.

𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩: 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵 — 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘭.

𝘞𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘞𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺-𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘴 — 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘢 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘦. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦, 𝘢 𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘶𝘵𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 make a 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦.

𝘈𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴, 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘱𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴 — 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴.

𝘞𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘰𝘳 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦r.

The Libertarian Party urges members and supporters to write to their MP and publicise this heinous attack on small businesses on their social media. While the ban may appear to be a fait accompli, we are duty bound to speak up against such egregious assaults on private business.

So yes, disposable vapes have a terrible environmental impact and openly appeal to children with their bright colours and saccharine flavours.

But a state that answers every safety concern with prohibition- at the expense people's livelihoods- is a far bigger problem.