Michael Landl, Director of the World Vapers’ Alliance, expressed serious reservations about this move: “While the intention to curb smoking is commendable, it’s concerning that the Scottish Government is considering extending this ban to vaping. It’s important to remember that it’s already illegal for teenagers to buy vapes. Adding another layer of prohibition doesn’t solve the underlying issues. Instead, we need to focus on enforcing existing laws more effectively and addressing the reasons why teenagers start smoking or vaping in the first place.”

The Daily Mail’s report suggests that anyone born in 2009 or later – currently 14 or younger – will never be able to buy tobacco or vape products in Scotland legally. This approach, according to Landl, could lead to unintended consequences.

Landl said: “Will there be vape smuggling gangs operating bringing vapes from England into Scotland? As absurd as this sounds, we have seen in the past what prohibition leads to. Prohibition has a history of failure, and this is no different. Banning the most successful smoking cessation tool in history makes little sense and is counterproductive. We have seen similar approaches fail disastrously in Australia, leading to a booming black market.”

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