The Know Daily - Monday 29 January 2024

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Stunning snaps of a crab-eating macaque 👇 and a pink pygmy seahorse are among the winners of this year’s Ocean Art Underwater Photo Competition - and we strongly recommend diving into the other winning images.

🌬️ Up in smoke

Disposable vapes are set to be banned under UK-wide plans to tackle their growing use among children.

But isn’t it illegal to sell vapes to under 18s?
Yes - but according to the charity Action on Smoking and Health, 7.6% of 11 to 17-year-olds now vape regularly or occasionally, up from 4.1% in 2020. 

The government says that disposable vapes - which are often sold in more colourful packaging than refillable ones - are a “key driver” behind the rise in youth vaping, and has now decided to ban their sale altogether.

Go on…
In a statement, the PM said that while vaping can be a “useful tool” to help smokers quit cigarettes, the long-term impacts of vaping are “unknown” and marketing them to children “is not acceptable”. 

On top of the ban, the government announced plans to restrict vape flavours which are “specifically marketed at children” and to force employers to produce “plainer, less visually appealing” packaging. 

Why is the ban being introduced now?
According to The Guardian, the move forms part of a “wider response” to a public consultation on smoking and vaping. This also resulted in last year’s announcement of a ban on the sale of cigarettes to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009 in a bid to create a “smoke-free generation”.

How has the news gone down?
The UK Vaping Industry Association said it was “dismayed” by the announcement, which it described as a “desperate attempt” by the government to “sacrifice vapers for votes” ahead of the next election.

But health experts have welcomed the move, as have environmental groups, who have “long argued” that disposable vapes are wasteful, said the BBC.