Shopkeepers are selling off disposable vaping devices ahead of a ban that will come into force on Monday [Barbaros Kaya/Pexels]

VAPERS have been scrambling to stockpile their favourite products as shopkeepers unload disposable devices with big discounts ahead of a ban.

The sale and supply of all single-use disposable vapes in shops and online will be illegal in the United Kingdom from next week.

Instead of throw-aways, the nicotine-delivery dev-ices will only be legally sold if they are able to be refilled and recharged.

The legislation was enacted following a public outcry over the dramatic rise in young people becoming addicted to nicotine, and to curb throw-away battery-operated products that are routinely causing fires in homes, street bins and rubbish trucks.

But is any of it going to make any real difference?

Mark Oates, from the campaign group We Vape, said: “Clearly some companies are going to change their product slightly to get around the law.

“And then there is the issue of enforcement. There is no point having new rules if no one is checking up on it.

“But the government can’t just be playing whack-a-mole with shopkeepers. They are not dealing with the underlying issues.”

Mr Oates, whose campaign group has highlighted the widespread sale of illegal vapes in shops across the capital, suggested a licensing scheme for vape sellers, similar to pubs and alcohol, that could raise funds to boost trading standards resources.

Old and new products are almost identical

But he said his biggest fear was large numbers of people would return to smoking tobacco, and added: “Many will return to smoking due to the convenience.”

Celebrated as an effective way to stop smoking tobacco, vape popularity has also led to a massive surge in nicotine addiction among young people.

Despite the ban on disposable vapes, the new-style devices are still being produced in brightly-coloured packaging, with sugary and fruity flavours popular with teenagers.

And vape sellers told Extra how companies are creating new product lines that meet new criteria laid down by the government but appear almost identical – and just as attractive – to ones set to become illegal.

The cost of buying new-style vape refill pods is also almost the same as buying a new device, meaning most people will simply buy a new one instead of bothering to refill.

Thousands of suspected fakes and stolen goods have been recovered from shops all over Westminster in recent months by the city council working with the police.

From next week the council will have to be checking for the sale of the newly- banned vapes too.

Following a recent raid in Queensway, Westminster’s deputy leader Cllr Aicha Less, who leads on public protection, said: “Unscrupulous traders looking to make easy money are on notice they may get police and council officers coming through their doors at any time.”

PC Zach Ali, officer for Lancaster Gate ward, said: “Businesses selling unsafe or stolen products not only pose risks to the public but also undermine legitimate traders.”

The council said its officers have visited all shops selling vapes across the city to remind them that a ban on disposable vapes comes into force on Monday.