German Government Rejects Senate Request For Ban Disposable Vapes

According to the Deutscher Bunderstag (hib 498/2025), the Bundesrat has once again submitted a formal opinion to the government, calling for a ban on disposable vape, citing their serious environmental threat and increased waste disposal burden.

German Government Rejects Senate Request For Ban Disposable Vapes (1)

In this statement submitted to the government, the Senate pointed out that if disposable vapes are casually discarded into household waste, it not only causes waste of rare resources such as lithium, but also triggers fires due to battery short circuits, causing huge economic losses to the recycling and disposal industry.
The Senate also criticized the federal government’s proposed revision of the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act (ElektroG) as “insufficient” in improving recycling rates and reducing the risk of battery waste fires, and called on the government to directly ban the release and sale of disposable vapes. The statement also mentioned that EU member states such as France and Belgium have implemented similar bans.

In addition, the Senate suggests strengthening the responsibility of manufacturers by requiring them to share the costs of electronic device recycling and waste disposal, in order to avoid unilateral cost pressures on local public sectors.
The federal government acknowledged in its response that disposable vapes have issues with resource and health protection, but refused to amend the bill, citing the need for a “technical notification procedure” to implement the ban, which would result in legislative delays. The government stated that a more feasible path is to promote product regulatory measures at the EU level.
The German government rejects the Senate’s request for a ban on disposable vapes: it should be regulated uniformly by the European Union
The German Federal Senate has urged the federal government to ban disposable vapes and criticized the government for not adequately increasing the recycling rate of electronic devices in the revised draft. The German government acknowledged in its response that disposable vapes have resource and health issues, but refused to amend the bill, advocating for restrictions through EU level product regulations.

German Government Rejects Senate Request For Ban Disposable Vapes (4)

Overview of key points

1. The German Federal Senate calls for a ban on the sale of disposable vapes, citing their environmental and economic threats.
Improper handling of vape may result in resource loss and significant processing costs.
3. The government opposes legislative changes, but acknowledges the existence of resource and health protection issues.
4. Several experts have already supported the ban and advocated for expanding producer responsibility.

German Government Rejects Senate Request For Ban Disposable Vapes (3)

The German Electronic Cigarette Association opposes the ban on disposable vapes and flavors

During InterTabac 2025, there have been relevant reports from the German Electronic Cigarette Trade Association (VdeH) and the German Tobacco Free Enjoyment Alliance (BfTG).
Regarding the question of whether Germany may follow the example of the UK in implementing a ban on disposable vapes, BfTG responded that Germany is more likely to learn from the Dutch model and introduce a taste ban rather than directly banning disposable vapes.
Oliver Pohland, Executive Director of VdeH, pointed out that although the German vape market continues to grow, the black market size has approached half of the legal market, and the rise of disposable products is reshaping the channel landscape. The association explicitly opposes taste bans and disposable product bans, believing that such policies will promote the expansion of the black market and encourage consumers to return to cigarettes, and calls for policy development to maintain logical consistency.