review stock and identify products that will no longer be sold legally
stop buying new stock of single-use vapes; sell through all existing stock
only buy vapes from reputable sources that follow the new regulations
train your employees about the new requirements and compliance expectations
arrange for the environmentally responsible disposal of any unsold single-use vapes
What your business should do from 1 June
From 1 June 2025, it is an offence to have disposable vaping products in your possession for sale. Any leftover disposable vaping products must be:
stored in stock rooms, away from the shop floor, and
separated from other goods, securely wrapped, and clearly labelled, they are waiting to be collected for disposal and are not for sale
Enforcement and penalties
Enforcement of the ban in Scotland will be carried out by local Trading Standards teams.
Businesses found in violation may face:
seizure of non-compliant products
fixed penalty notice
criminal prosecution with fines of up to £5000
Why this ban matters
Single-use vapes are difficult to recycle. They typically end up in landfills, where their batteries can leak harmful waste like battery acid, lithium, and mercury.
Batteries thrown into household waste also cause fires in bin lorries and waste-processing centres.
Defra estimates almost five million single-use vapes were either littered or thrown into general waste each week last year.
Islanders in the Outer Hebrides are reportedly being disturbed a mysterious low-frequency humming sound that can heard in the day and night.
Around 200 people in Lewis have reported hearing the noise, which locals say is “impossible to ignore” and is louder nearer the coast of the island.
Lauren-Grace Kirtley, who has set up a Facebook page dedicated to the noise which has been dubbed the “Hebridean Hum”, said the sound has prevented her from sleeping properly for several weeks.
“It’s impossible to ignore – it is like somebody shouting in your face constantly for attention,” she told BBC Scotland.
Marcus-Hazel McGowan, who has been using amateur radio techniques to try and find the source, also told the BBC: “It’s just trying to narrow it down and hoping nobody loses their mind completely over it.”
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar said it had received reports relating to low-frequency sounds from a small number of islanders.
A spokesperson for the local authority said: “As with any other reports of this nature, the comhairle’s environmental health team is investigating and will liaise with those who have reported issues.”
Kirtley said the hum could be heard across Lewis and that it was less noticeable in the centre of the island and strongest on the east coast.
She added that the Hebridean Hum had been recorded at a low frequency of 50hz.
“It is a very low, humming, droning, pulsating noise. It’s incredibly intrusive and distressing,” she said.
“I haven’t slept a night through for weeks and have problems concentrating.
“I get a lot of fluttering in my ears. It’s making me dizzy and giving me headaches.”
McGowan, who said he is determined to find the source of the mysterious hum, has ruled out SSEN’s Battery Point Power Station in Stornoway and also believes it was unlikely to be coming from boats.
The power station on the island is only operated at certain times, while the hum has been reported as a constant problem.
Clean Air Day is happening on Thursday 19th June and this year the focus aims to highlight that air pollution affects us from before our first breath until our last.
Clean Air Day is the UK’s largest air pollution campaign and has been running since 2017. The day is organised by Global Action Plan with the support of Health Equals. It helps to focus attention on taking collective action to clean up our air, boost public awareness and understanding of the health harms of air pollution, and demonstrate support for clean air – giving decision makers a mandate to implement the solutions we need to breathe cleaner air.
Global Action Plan are encouraging individuals to get involved by learning more about the health harms of air pollution and asking your MP to champion more ambitious air quality targets in UK law so we can all breathe cleaner air and live healthier lives. Organisations can get involved by using the campaign comms pack to highlight the health harms of air pollution and encourage your audiences to take action, as well as hosting an event to bring your community together in support of cleaner air.
Westminster City Council has launched a new pilot scheme aimed at tackling harmful air pollution caused by cooking emissions in restaurants.
Commercial cooking is the third-largest single source of Particulate Matter (also known as PM2.5 emissions) in London, which is estimated to account for 59% of total emissions. These emissions originate from cooking fuels such as charcoal, wood and gas, as well as food preparation methods like frying and grilling.
To address this, Westminster City Council is trialling a new air purification system in five local restaurants to assess its effectiveness in reducing PM2.5 emissions and improving indoor and outdoor air quality.
The council see the trial as a providing valuable data on how restaurant emissions contribute to pollution across the city, which the will share with the businesses.
The project will cost the restaurants nothing and will involve no greater inconvenience than the installation, which will take around an hour. The project is scheduled to last for three months.
Mayfair restaurant, Apricity, is one of the restaurants piloting the technology. Head chef Eve Seemann said: ‘It’s important research in terms of health for myself and the staff, as well as anyone visiting Mayfair and central London.
‘Although our style of cooking may not be as polluting as others, it’s important to see what areas we could improve in. This data will allow us to see when there’s a peak, what caused that peak and what we can do to try and remedy it. I’m glad we are part of finding a solution to reduce air pollution.’
Cllr Geoff Barraclough, Westminster City Council Cabinet Member for Planning and Economic Development, said: ‘These emissions from commercial cooking present a significant air quality and public health challenge in Westminster. What we learn from this pilot could help us shape future policies and ensure cleaner air for all those who live, work and visit the city.
‘We want this pilot to raise awareness of air quality issues within the industry, and I hope it encourages other businesses to sign up to participate in the trial. I’m proud that we’re leading the way testing innovative solutions to make sure our communities can live in a greener, more sustainable Fairer Environment.’
Dr Philip Webb, Chief Executive Officer at Health and Wellbeing 360 Ltd, said: ‘Not only will monitoring indoor environmental quality and outdoor air quality provide important data on pollutants and toxins in a real world setting such as kitchens in local restaurants based in community settings, it will give us insights into the health and wellbeing impacts of these types of emissions indoors and outdoors and, importantly, we will be able to assess the effectiveness of interventions such as ventilation, filtration and purification.
‘It also demonstrates Westminster Council leading the way on innovation in this sector and highlights the role of appropriate technology in identifying risks and mitigation strategies to help protect the health and wellbeing of local communities now and for future generations.’
Nutritional analysis of infant food carried out by the Aberdeen Scientific Services Laboratory for BBC Panorama has found low levels of certain nutrients and high sugar content.
Laboratory testing of 18 pouches made by Ella’s Kitchen, Heinz, Piccolo, Little Freddie, Aldi and Lidl found many to be low in vitamin C and iron, while some contained more sugar in a single pouch than a one-year-old should have in a day.
Aberdeen Scientific Services Laboratory approved by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service was commissioned by Panorama to independently test the nutritional value of a fruit, yoghurt and savoury pouch from each of the six leading brands.
Key findings included:
• Savoury pouches, used by some families as replacements for main meals, containing less than 5% of the key nutrient, iron, that an infant needs each day
• A fruit pouch in which virtually all the vitamin C had been lost during the manufacturing process
• Fruit pouches marketed as having “no added sugar” containing about four teaspoons of “free sugars” (created when fruit is blended); something that was deemed “intentionally misleading”
Many of the biggest brands use “halo-marketing” – surrounding products with healthy words or phrases – according to Dr Tedstone.
Ella’s Kitchen, for example, describes savoury products as “perfectly balanced for growing babies”, while Piccolo claims many pouches are “packed with goodness”. Some Little Freddie pouches come branded as “Good for Brains” and Heinz claims some of its fruit products are “as nutritionally good as homemade”.
Piccolo and Little Freddie told BBC their packaging accurately represented the key ingredients and flavours contained in their products, while Ella’s Kitchen said it “would never use” misleading claims. Heinz did not address our questions on marketing.
To watch the Panorama: The Truth about Baby Food Pouches episode see here – BBC – welcome back
The UK Government are consulting on proposals to extend the soft drinks industry levy (SDIL) to more drinks.
The consultation sets out proposals for changes to the minimum sugar content threshold at which the levy applies, and the current exemptions for milk-based drinks and milk substitute drinks.
The government is not seeking to revisit the SDIL’s fundamental design and scope; the SDIL will remain a tax on pre-packaged soft drinks with added sugar.
These proposals are:
to reduce the minimum sugar content at which the SDIL applies to qualifying drinks from 5g to 4g. The SDIL standard rate would apply from 4g to 7.9g total sugar per 100ml, as opposed to 5g to 7.9g total sugar per 100ml currently
to remove the exemption for milk-based drinks whilst introducing a ‘lactose allowance’ to account for the natural sugars in the milk component of these drinks
to remove the exemption for milk substitute drinks with ‘added sugars’ beyond those sugars derived from the principal ingredient, such as oats or rice
Since its announcement in 2016, the SDIL has successfully led to extensive product reformulation, with a 46% reduction in the sugar in soft drinks in scope of the levy. Between 2015 and 2019, 65% of soft drinks that contained more than 5g sugar per 100ml reformulated to below 5g, bringing the total proportion of the market with less than 5g sugar per 100ml to 89%. However, UK sugar intakes remain around double the recommended levels.
The UK Government welcomes views on these proposals as part of this consultation and your feedback will inform decisions by HM Treasury ministers. Following this consultation, the government expects to confirm the final policy at Autumn Budget 2025. – Strengthening the Soft Drinks Industry Levy – GOV.UK
The forthcoming Pollution Update event will be again online, on the 21 May 2025. The event will focus on a range of pollution topics and will offer updates and insights on contaminated land, noise and the new generation of sports activities, air quality legislation and equipment, and the role of the EHO in climate and health.
Speakers range from specialist consultants, LA experts and Scottish Government.
The 150 Year Environmental Health Forum will be held on Thursday 25 September 2025 at the Apex Grassmarket Hotel in Edinburgh which will then be followed by a special dinner to celebrate the 150-year milestone.
Both the Northern and Southern Centres have events happening in May and June. For more information and booking forms please visit Events Archives – REHIS
A farmer who starved his Highland cows during a drought has been fined.
David Cameron left the animals in a field at Broadleys Farm near Stirling without checking on them during an extended period of dry weather in the spring and summer of 2023.
An anonymous caller alerted the SSPCA, who passed the matter on to animal health and welfare officers at Stirling Council. The Officers found no supplementary feed in the field and established it had been some time since it had been provided.
Stirling Sheriff Court, heard that the Highland cattle had a body condition score of just one out of five – classing them as “emaciated” and the other three scored 1.5 on the same scale, meaning they were malnourished and “very lean”.
Prosecutor Lindsey Brooks said one of the cows that had just had her first calf had failed to develop udders due to her state of malnutrition.
Officers instructed staff at a nearby cattle mart to feed the animals, which were later successfully auctioned with the proceeds of sale going to the council, the court was told.
Cameron, 72, appeared for sentence after pleading guilty in March this year to causing unnecessary suffering to animals.
Cameron’s lawyer said he had been a farmer for more than 50 years and had never previously been involved in such an incident. He said Cameron still had 13 cattle and there were no issues or concerns in respect of them.
He said Cameron had been keeping the animals in a field before they were transported to Ireland, but that had been delayed.
Cameron said he had arranged for someone to give the cattle supplementary feed and silage, but that ceased between April and June 2023.
Cameron’s lawyer said: “It was perhaps ‘out of sight, out of mind’ from his point of view.”
He added: “There was exceptional weather at the time, which didn’t assist.”
At last month’s hearing, Cameron had been warned that “imprisonment was a possibility”.
However, on 23 April Sheriff William Gilchrist imposed a fine of £1040. He said it had been up to Cameron to see that the cattle received supplementary feeding.
He said: “It was his responsibility to ensure that was happening, and he failed in that responsibility”.
Sheriff Gilchrist said he would not make any order preventing Cameron from continuing to deal in cattle, given the number of years he had been involved without previous incident.
Following an investigation by Southwark Council and the Food Standard Agency’s National Food Crime Unit (NFCU), three men entered guilty pleas, and one man and his business entered not guilty pleas at proceedings at the Inner London Crown Court.
Three men, Mark Hooper, Azar Irshad, and Ali Afzal entered guilty pleas for their involvement in serious food crimes. The fourth defendant Anthony Fear, sole director of a business known as Fears Animal Byproducts, entered not guilty pleas for himself and on behalf of his business and elected to stand trial.
The court heard evidence of a complex investigation that started when Southwark officers found 1.9 tonnes of Category 3 animal by products, which included whole and cut chickens, lamb’s testicles and beef burgers, in an illegal meat cutting plant in London and being processed for sale into the human food chain.
NFCU enquiries traced the animal by-products back to legitimate food business operators who confirmed these meat products had been sent to Fears Animal Byproducts in Somerset for manufacture into pet foods or for safe disposal.
Once meat is classified as an animal by product, for food safety reasons it can never be placed back into the human food chain. Evidence of criminal conspiracy was then pieced together following analysis of large volumes of communications data and other evidence that demonstrated the criminal relationships between the four accused men.
The trial lasted over 11 weeks. On 27 March 2025, the jury found both Fear and his business unanimously guilty of the offence of conspiracy to defraud by placing unfit food on the market.
In closing remarks His Honour Judge Lucas praised the quality and professionalism of the investigation and formally commended the lead NFCU Investigator, Andrew Yeats, stating how impressed he had been with the quality of the investigation and the evidence provided by him.
At earlier hearings on 13 January 2025:
Mark Hooper a manager at Fears Animal Byproducts pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud by placing unfit food on the market.
Azar Irshad pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud, failure to comply with Regulation 19 Food Safety & Hygiene Regulations relating to Unapproved Premises, Placing Unfit Food on the Market (Smokies), Placing Unfit Food on the Market (Out of Date Beef Burgers) and Placing Unfit Food on the Market (Illegally Diverted ABP Cat 3).
Ali Afzal pleaded guilty to failure to comply with Reg 19 Food Safety & Hygiene Regulations relating to Unapproved Premises.
“These five convictions have been secured following an extensive investigation led by the NFCU which required meticulous examination of large volumes of evidence. The NFCU worked closely with Southwark Council and other partners to enable this successful prosecution. It is anticipated that in due course the sentencing will reflect the serious nature of this offending and will act as a deterrent to other bad actors in the food chain.”
The first clinical trial to test whether adults allergic to peanuts can be desensitised has shown great success with two thirds of the cohort consuming the equivalent of four peanuts without reacting.
The Grown Up Peanut Immunotherapy (GUPI) trial is the first study entirely in adults with severe allergy to test whether daily doses of peanuts taken under strict supervision can be safely tolerated.
The approach, known as oral immunotherapy, has seen success in trials in infants and children worldwide. The findings of the first trial in an exclusive adult cohort has been published in the journal Allergyby a research team from King’s College London and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. The study is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Research for Patient Benefit Programme.
Chief InvestigatorProfessor Stephen Till, Professor of Allergy in the School of Immunology & Microbial Sciences, said: “Constant fear of life-threatening reactions place a huge burden on people with peanut allergy. The only way to manage a peanut allergy is strict avoidance and treatment of allergic reactions, including with adrenaline. Although peanut immunotherapy is known to be effective in children, this trial provides preliminary evidence that adults can also be desensitised and that this improves quality of life. The average tolerated dose of peanuts increased 100-fold over the course of the trial.”
The Phase II trial recruited twenty-one adults between 18 and 40 with a clinical diagnosis of peanut allergy at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. Allergy was confirmed via skin prick test, blood test and then an oral food challenge.
In a clinical setting, participants received the first dose of 0.8mg peanut flour mixed in with food, then 1.5 mg 30 minutes later followed by 3mg a further 30 minutes later.
Participants who tolerated 1.5mg or 3mg of peanut flour continued on a daily dose at home for 2 weeks. This is the equivalent of 0.5-1% of a whole peanut.
Then participants returned at 2-weekly intervals for supervised doses of more peanut protein, increasing from 6mg (around 1/40th of a whole peanut) to 1g (four whole peanuts). If participants could tolerate 50-100mg of peanut protein, participants were switched to eating whole peanuts, peanut butter or peanut products, with the first dose being under supervision of the clinical team.
Once participants achieved a daily dose of 1g they remained on this dose for at least four weeks before undergoing a double‐blind placebo‐controlled food challenge. This involved being given increasing doses of either peanut or placebo (dummy) on separate days under close supervision to test their tolerance. Participants then continued daily dosing for at least three months before exiting the trial as well as the option of continuing post-study.
Results showed that 67% of participants were able to consume at least 1.4g peanut protein – the equivalent of five peanuts – without reacting. Participants of the trial then could consume peanuts every day at home to remain desensitised.
Professor Till said: “We are very pleased with the results. The efficacy rate is broadly in line with peanut oral immunotherapy trials in children. The next stage of the research will be confirming this in larger trials, and also identifying the group of adult patients who would most likely benefit from oral immunotherapy, and see whether it can lead to long-term tolerance in this age group.”
Lead author specialist Allergy Dietitian Hannah Hunter from Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust said: “Living with peanut allergy is a huge burden due to the need for constant vigilance and the risk of accidental exposures. Everyday situations such as eating in restaurants and social events are anxiety provoking and our patients tell us that the condition also affects travel choices and career options. We found that quality of life significantly improved after oral immunotherapy and fear of food also decreased. Many participants who completed the trial told us that the treatment had been life-changing and they were no longer living in fear.”
Chris Brookes-Smith, a 28 year old Cybersecurity Specialist from Northamptonshire, took part in the trial. He was diagnosed with a peanut allergy as a baby and jumped at the chance of taking part in the trial.
He added: “The trial was an interesting experience because all of my life I had associated the taste and smell of peanuts with fear and death. I started with a small amount of peanut flour with yoghurt and by the end of the trial I could eat four peanuts in one sitting. Now, I have four peanuts every day with my breakfast to maintain my immunity. Before, a tiny mistake could have life-threatening impacts but now I don’t have the fear that I might collapse and die from eating a takeaway.”
Public Health Minister, Ashley Dalton said: “This groundbreaking research offers hope to thousands living with peanut allergies. For too long, people have navigated daily life in fear of accidental exposure that could be life-threatening.
“I’m proud the UK is leading this vital work through NIHR funding. These results show how we’re transforming lives through science, potentially changing care standards for adults with peanut allergies worldwide.”
Professor Lucy Chappell, Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and Chief Executive Officer of the NIHR said: ‘These results mark an important milestone in allergy treatment and offers new hope to adults living with peanut allergies. The NIHR Research for Patient Benefit Programme funds research that has a direct impact on improving patient outcomes. For adults who have long lived with the daily burden and fear of accidental exposure they may have a pathway toward greater safety and an improved quality of life.’
Scottish Green MSP Mark Ruskell has officially lodged his bill to ban greyhound racing in Scotland.
The bill has received crossparty support allowing it to progress to this stage, but it is yet to secure the support of the Scottish Government.
In April the Welsh Government announced that it would ban the cruel gambling-led entertainment “as soon as practically possible.”
According to the RSPCA, there are only 9 countries in the world that still allow commercial greyhound racing, including all 4 UK nations.
Data from 2023 showed that 109 greyhounds died trackside in the UK, an increase on the number for 2022. There were 4,238 injuries to greyhounds during racing in 2023.
Mr Ruskell said:
“This is a milestone moment for my bill and I am grateful to all of the MSPs and campaigners who have helped us to get to this stage.
“Greyhound racing is a cruel sport that causes a huge amount of harm to dogs. Far too many have been killed or badly injured on the tracks.
“There is no safe or humane way to force a group of dogs to run around an oval track at 40 mph and it is totally wrong to make them do it in the name of profit.
“With Wales taking action, Scotland is looking increasingly isolated in allowing this gambling-led spectacle to continue.
“I hope that the Scottish Government and MSPs from all parties will support me and that we can get my bill over the line and end greyhound racing for good.”
Scientists have studied the 2023 eruption of the Sundhnúkagígar volcano in Iceland and found that the sulphur dioxide it released seriously affected air quality up to 2,000km away in the arctic.
The team from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, used satellites equipped with high-resolution sensors that can detect trace gases more accurately than older technology. These hyperspectral satellites collect data in different light wavelengths, making it easier to identify and track air pollutants. By combining this satellite data with weather information and ground-based sensors, they could get a clearer picture of how the volcanic pollution spread through the atmosphere.
Iceland has over 130 volcanoes, with around 50 still active. One of them, the Sundhnúkagígar volcano on the Reykjanes Peninsula, has erupted multiple times since 2023 and is still active. Ash from these eruptions can drift into the Arctic and contribute to ‘Arctic haze’ air pollution that forms under certain weather conditions.
The satellite data showed that the volcano released a large amount of SO₂ which was, in the first instance, carried to the south and east toward Scotland and Ireland, and then north into the Arctic. By August 26th the Arctic saw SO₂ levels spike to about 40 times the normal amount. Ground sensors also showed that the pollution reached up to 1 km above the surface.
It was found that even this far away, 80% of the sulphur dioxide pollution in Ny-Ålesund, a remote Arctic region, was caused by the eruption in Iceland.
We have reported on such phenomena in the past. Last year Iceland’s Sýlingarfell volcano pushed sulphur dioxide in Scotland to levels not seen since the 1970s.
In the latest research , the team say: ‘The products we demonstrated will serve as essential data sources for global volcano monitoring in the future. In the future, the multi-satellite fusion product is expected to achieve hourly resolution, which can accurately identify the diffusion of volcano gases.
‘Additionally, it is important to highlight that in the process of global warming, the continued activity of volcanoes in the permafrost regions will further exacerbate the melting of local glaciers and permafrost, thus breaking the gravitational balance of the overlying crust, leading to further intensification of volcanic activity. Therefore, multi-instrument, multi-scale, and high-resolution observations are essential to monitor the volcanic activity in these regions and valuate its impacts on regional and global climate, as well as the broader environment.’
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