A LOCAL MP has shared her "deep disappointment" that the tax on vapes will not come into effect until October 2026.

While Kirsten Oswald welcomed the decision to tax vapes, she is calling for more urgency in implementing the tax, as well as ensuring it is comprehensive and meaningful.

She said: “Having long sounded the alarm about the environmental and health harms of disposable vapes, I welcome any move to tax vapes, but I am deeply disappointed that this is not due to happen until October 2026.

“If the UK Government is remotely serious about protecting the health of young people in particular, and if they have any care for our environment, this is a step which should be taken as a matter of urgency, rather than being cynically kicked down the road.

“We know that a ban on disposable vapes is in the pipeline, and that is welcome though the details and timeline will be important. Whilst we await the ban, the need to take other steps such as taxation is increasingly urgent and the Chancellor missed that opportunity today."

The MP has criticised disposable vapes since 2022, citing environmental harm and potential health risks to young users.

Her advocacy in protecting young people against the risks of vaping involved over 20 written questions to the UK government about vapes, efforts to ban these devices during parliamentary question sessions and arguing her case in the House of Commons.

Bodies like the Royal College of Physicians are sounding the alarm on health grounds, especially with their use by children and young people.

Ms Oswald is campaigning for reasonable steps to curb their use to be employed, including taxation, limiting sponsorship and a comprehensive ban on disposable vapes.

She added: “The reality is that disposable vapes are not used predominantly to help with smoking cessation. Rather an exponentially increasing number of our children and young people are using them despite having never smoked tobacco products, with some studies even pointing to them being a gateway to tobacco use.

“The UK Government has a responsibility to act, and this move to tax vapes, whilst welcome in principle puts the immediate action needed to tax disposable vapes out of reach for now, meaning our young people and our environment continue to suffer whilst we await taxation tomorrow”.