Retailers should get behind calls to curb the polluting gadgets

By Bill Heaney

There’s more in the long grass that is the curse of West Dunbartonshire Council than dog turds, tics and carelessly discarded illegal litter.

Shopkeepers need to get behind the “growing consensus” for a ban on disposable vapes by sticking the polluting gadgets in cupboards near their sales points, a Green MSP has said.

Gillian Mackay, who backs the Daily Record’s campaign to outlaw single-use vapes, said a ban is “badly needed”.

But ahead of the outcome of a Scottish Government review, Ms Mackay said retailers should in the meantime ensure kids aren’t picking the products up off shelves by putting them behind the counter like cigarettes.

The Scottish Greens’ health spokeswoman also urged shops to raise awareness of the legal purchase age of 18 and clearly advertise return points to stem massive levels of vapes litter.

Leading medics have become the latest group calling for disposable devices to be banned amid fears over the health impacts of the teen vaping craze.

Mackay said: “Disposable vapes create a huge amount of waste. You can see it on every high street in the country. They are bad for our environment and for our health.”

The Record’s Bin the Vapes campaign, raised by Mackay at Holyrood in January, led the Scottish Government to launch an urgent review into disposable brands.

Disposables contain chemicals hazardous for wildlife while the precious lithium batteries inside can ignite and spark fires.

It comes as medical experts have backed a ban and warned single-use vapes risk hooking a new generation on nicotine.

The medical body said that since vapes have only been on sale since 2007, long-term studies into their impact on health don’t exist yet – particularly on the effects on young lungs, hearts and brains.

Top picture: There’s public outrage at the way West Dunbartonshire Council is allowing the grass on public spaces to grow long and dangerously for pets and children especially.