One of the world’s most vape-friendly countries, the United Kingdom, is becoming frostier toward single-use versions of the harm reduction products. The debate, which is mirrored internationally, pits environmental concerns and familiar fears of youth uptake against the specific role of disposables in helping people switch from smoking.

In January, the high-end supermarket chain Waitrose, with over 300 stores around the UK, said it’s “doing the right thing” for public health and the environment by discontinuing sales of all single-use vapes.

Waitrose is the first British supermarket to have taken such a stance. Its commercial director, Charlotte Di Cello, disse in a press statement that “selling single-use vapes is not something we could justify given the impact on both the environment and the health of young people.”

The UK has generally embraced vaping. An estimated 4.3 million people here vape. Most formerly smoked—and of the remainder, the large majority currently smoke, indicating they could be on a path to switching entirely.

Young added that the single-use nature of these vapes contributes to large amounts of waste that “end up in landfill and incineration plants.”

But single-use vapes, typically made of plastic, rubber, copper and batteries, raise the issue of environmentally responsible disposal. Recent research by Material Focus, a nonprofit organization focusing on recycling electrical goods, found that 1.3 million single-use vapes are thrown away every week in the UK.

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