Disposable e-cigarettes go up in smoke in first EU nation

Wildly popular with young people for their dizzy array of flavours, including apple, watermelon and cola, the time is up for disposable e-cigarettes in Belgium - the first EU country to ban them.

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Brussels - Wildly popular with young people for their dizzy array of flavours, including apple, watermelon and cola, the time is up for disposable e-cigarettes in Belgium - the first EU country to ban them.

From tomorrow, 1 January, it will be forbidden to sell single-use vapes in Belgium. This is a bid to protect young people's health as part of a national anti-tobacco plan.

The European Union aims to achieve a tobacco-free generation by 2040, reducing the 27-country bloc's smoking population from around 25% now to less than 5% of the total.

Some EU countries plan to bring that deadline forward.

Vapes are often promoted as less harmful than traditional tobacco products. They attract younger users with their colourful packaging, the promise of mouth-watering flavours and the advantage of avoiding that nasty smoke smell on fingers.