Ariq Haidar
Environmental Sustainability MA (Hons)
A dissertation that systematically reviews past publications on the environmental impacts caused by disposable e-cigarette (vape) usage and disposal.
About
Disposable e-cigarettes, touted as a "healthier and cleaner" alternative to tobacco, pose multifaceted challenges. Rising underage usage due to packaging concerns, air quality issues caused by indoor and outdoor usage, and the electronic and chemical wastes generated caused by improper disposal of the device underscores the broader environmental and social implications.
A research gap appeared for this dissertation due to previous publications that predominantly focus on health and social impacts and neglecting environmental concerns.
A systematic review based on the PRISMA-S 2020 highlights persisting issues across production, use, and disposal, emphasizing regulatory gaps and data deficiencies. Addressing these gaps necessitates comprehensive lifecycle analysis, which is still not being done due to data secrecy, and regulatory reforms from the relevant stakeholders to reduce usage, thus mitigating environmental risks.
