Disposable vapes will be withdrawn from sale in Wales in the next six months after the Senedd unanimously backed a ban.

Huw Irranca-Davies, Wales’ climate change secretary, said more than five million disposable vapes were being littered or thrown away every week in the UK in 2023.

“That is almost four times as much as the previous year,” he told the Senedd. “These littered single-use vapes can introduce damaging plastics, nicotine salts, heavy metals and other chemicals into the environment, damaging wildlife.”

Mr Irranca-Davies, who is also deputy first minister, said the lithium-ion batteries can be a fire risk and disposable vapes often end up in landfill if not littered on the street.

Warning disposable vapes are fuelling a “deeply worrying” rise in youth vaping, he said the regulations will create an offence to supply single-use vapes from 1 June 2025.

Mr Irranca-Davies explained the ban includes disposable vapes given away for free and those not containing nicotine but reusable vapes will continue to be sold.

He said: “Anyone found supplying single-use vapes after June 1 and/or ignores a stop notice could potentially face a substantial fine or even imprisonment.”

The deputy first minister said councils will be responsible for enforcing the regulations which were passed without objection by the Senedd on 10 December.

He told the Senedd: “We must take action to shift away from this throwaway culture.”

Mr Irranca-Davies said businesses will be given six months to remove stock, with similar regulations set to come into force in England and Scotland at the same time.

Rhys ab Owen welcomed a ban, saying you only have to walk the streets to see the environmental harm caused by disposable vapes – nevermind the harm to health.

But the independent, who represents South Wales Central, said: “I am disappointed, very disappointed this has taken so long to happen. More than two years ago, I proposed an amendment to the single-use plastics bill that would have banned disposable vapes.”

Mr ab Owen pointed out that the Welsh Government voted against due to a lack of evidence. “In the meantime, there are thousands and thousands of disposable vapes that cannot be recycled and have been discarded here in Wales,” he said.

“But, more shocking still …, this has been an opportunity for many of our children and young people to start using those disposable vapes.”

Mr Irranca-Davies replied: “It has taken a little bit longer to bring this forward … but we’ve got there. We’ve got to this point and those masses of litter and the wider environmental degradation caused by these, we can consign to the past.”