(Bloomberg) — A UK ban on disposable vapes is failing to stop users treating refillable devices as if they are still throwaway products, new research shows.

Environmental legislation has made it illegal since June 1 to sell disposable vapes in the UK, a bid to crack down on youth usage and to tackle ballooning amounts of toxic and flammable waste.

But early evidence suggests vapers often use reusable products just once before discarding them — due to convenience, as well as the fact many refillable models are priced around the same as the now outlawed disposables. Sales of reusable vapes outstripped the number of pods used to refill them in June and July, according to the latest data from consumer research firm NielsenIQ.

“We’ve got to the point where the bans come in and actually nothing really looks that different,” said Sarah Jackson, a fellow in the alcohol and tobacco research group at University College London. “Ones that are now legally available do have a charging point, they are possible to replace or to refill. But they’re in almost identical packaging sold for almost identical prices.” 

Critics of the ban, a policy the Labour government adopted from the previous Conservative administration, say it will not drive behavioral change. It did not include measures on minimum pricing, or rules on packaging. There’s also no requirement for stores selling vapes to sell pods to go with them.

Meanwhile the Association of Convenience Stores blames a shortage of pods, which according to director of communications Chris Noice has helped turn “reusable vapes into disposable ones because people don’t feel like they can reliably get what they need to be able to reuse them.”

Just under 7.8 million reusable kits, which typically include one vape and one refill pod, were sold in July, according to the NielsenIQ data. That was over a million fewer than in June, though both months showed significantly more kits were sold than pods.

Overall, the number of vapes sold has declined in recent months ahead of the ban, the data show, suggesting a shift in public attitudes to vaping. 

“Single-use vapes get kids hooked on nicotine and blight our high streets with litter — it’s why we’ve taken tough action and banned them,” a government spokesperson said, adding that “rogue traders” who break the rules will face serious penalties, potentially including fines or jail time.

Trading standards and local authorities are helping enforce the ban, and 10,500 recycle bins have been put in UK stores since April, the spokesperson said. 

The government is also pushing its Tobacco and Vapes Bill through Parliament. The proposed legislation includes regulation on advertising, packaging and design of vapes in a bid to tackle youth vaping. 

The focus on packaging appears aimed at popular vape brands including Elfbar and Lost Mary, both produced by the same Chinese manufacturer. Environmental campaigners say the look and price — typically £5.99 ($8.10) — of their reusable vapes is too similar to the single-use ones people were used to.

Elfbar and Lost Mary commissioned a survey in July in which 84% of their users said they purchase refills, and 8% said they buy a new device each time. “We expect uptake to accelerate as awareness of, and familiarity with, new reusable and refillable formats continue to build,” Elfbar said in an email.

But rivals including British American Tobacco Plc, the maker of Dunhill cigarettes which sees vaping as part of a transition away from traditional smoking products, say the government should do more to enforce the spirit of the ban.

Consumers are buying these new vapes as if they were disposable “because of the way they look, the way they taste, the way they come across them,” said Asli Ertonguc, BAT’s area director for Western Europe.

Though BAT sells some of its Vuse vapes at a similar price to Elfbar and Lost Mary, it has also started to market more expensive products — some with Bluetooth and other technology — at about £30, a level likely to make consumers think twice about throwing them out after one use.

Imperial Brands Plc is also trying to position itself as a “responsible manufacturer,” writing to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in July to urge it to strengthen guidance around the ban. The company pointed to steps it was taking to ensure shops stock its refill pods alongside its Blu brand of vapes, some of which are competitively priced to rivals like Elfbar.

“Manufacturers should have seen a stabilization — for want of a better word — in devices and much more pod sales,” said Deirdre Healy, Imperial’s head of corporate and legal affairs. “And I don’t think we’re seeing that yet.”

What needs to change most, though, is public awareness as most people are unaware about the consequences of discarded vapes, according to Scott Butler, executive director at Material Focus. The environmental group estimated last year about 8.2 million a week were being thrown out or incorrectly recycled.

There’s a fire “at least every other day” linked to a lithium ion battery, he said, “predominantly a vape being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

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