In short

Disposables are ready-to-use disposable e-cigarettes.

The hype mainly came from simple use, strong flavours and a low entry barrier.

Environment, youth protection and costs clearly speak against an uncritical view.

The hype around disposable e-cigarettes is not accidental. They are ready to use immediately, require no filling, no coil changes and no technical knowledge. This exact simplicity made disposables highly visible for many users.

Still, the topic is not only about convenience. Disposable devices contain a battery, electronics, plastic, heating element and liquid. After use, they are discarded. This makes them clearly different from rechargeable and refillable systems.

Disposable e-cigarettes are closed devices that are already filled with liquid and usually pre-charged. You take the device out of the packaging and can use it directly. Once the battery or liquid is empty, the entire device is disposed of.

In everyday language, terms such as disposable vape, disposable e-shisha, puff or disposable e-cigarette are used. Technically, it always refers to a device that is not permanently refilled and reused.

The most important reason is simplicity. Many people do not want to understand a device, buy liquid, change pods or coils or check settings. Disposables bypass these barriers.

Added to this were striking flavours, compact formats, strong visibility on social media and low entry prices per device. For the first purchase, this feels uncomplicated. In the long term, however, it is not automatically cheaper or better.

The term disposable e-shisha is often used for especially sweet, fruity or aromatically striking disposable devices. Technically, however, it is usually also a disposable e-cigarette: battery, vaporiser, liquid and mouthpiece in one closed device.

The term “e-shisha” can sound harmless because it feels more like an aroma or lifestyle product. For classification, it is more important whether nicotine is included, how the product is regulated and how it must be disposed of.

Disposable e-cigarettes create waste from plastic, metal, electronics and batteries. This is one of the biggest points of criticism. A product that contains a battery and electronics should not be treated like normal household waste.

Rechargeable and refillable systems also generate consumables, but not an entire device as waste after each use. From an environmental perspective, disposables are therefore particularly difficult to justify.

Disposables have also been strongly criticised because striking colours, sweet flavours and easy availability are especially visible. This is problematic from a youth protection perspective. Nicotine products do not belong in the hands of minors.

In Switzerland, the new Tobacco Products Act has introduced a more uniform framework for tobacco products, e-cigarettes and related products. This includes youth protection, warning notices and advertising restrictions, among other things. In addition, Parliament approved a motion in 2025 for a sales ban on disposables.

Since October 2024, e-cigarette liquids have been taxed in Switzerland. For refillable e-cigarettes with nicotine, the tax is 20 centimes per millilitre. For disposable e-cigarettes, the tax is 1 franc per millilitre, regardless of whether nicotine is included.

This changes the price logic significantly. A device that looks cheap as a single purchase can be expensive in relation to the amount of liquid it contains. For regular users, rechargeable or refillable systems are usually more understandable and predictable.

The only understandable advantage is the low entry barrier: no filling, no charging, no maintenance. For adult smokers trying a nicotine product, this may seem convenient in the short term.

In the long term, however, the disadvantages outweigh this: more waste, poorer sustainability, less control over device and liquid, higher ongoing costs and fewer adjustment options. Anyone who vapes regularly is usually better served by a rechargeable pod system.