2025 Winner
LAURA YOUNG
“Vape Crusader” is the driving force behind the successful campaign to ban the sale of disposable vapes in Scotland.
Laura’s remarkable crusade started when she spotted a discarded vape while walking her dog.
She said: “I picked it up like any other piece of litter and went on with my day. But then I kept finding them everywhere and after a few weeks, I looked into what these devices were, and why I was seeing so many of them.”
What she discovered appalled her. As well as being made of single-use plastic, the devices littering Scotland’s streets also contain a cocktail of chemicals which are harmful to wildlife and lithium ion batteries, which are a fire risk.
There are also health concerns about e-cigarettes, many with colourful branding and sweet flavours which appeal to teenagers.
Laura, 28, a Phd student at Dundee and Abertay Universities, was shocked that nobody seemed to be speaking out on the issue.
She said: “There was no research, petitions, or organisations focussing on the problem. So, that left me with the decision of whether to be the one to start talking.”
She used her social media platform, where she is known to 42.9 thousand followers as Less Waste Laura, to highlight the scale of the issue, and began lobbying local politicians, starting in Dundee.’
She used her social media platform, where she is known to 42.9 thousand followers as Less Waste Laura, to highlight the scale of the issue, and began lobbying local politicians, starting in her home city, Dundee.
After she addressed councillors there, Dundee City Council became the first in Scotland to back calls for a ban.
Councils across Scotland followed suit, alongside calls from MSPs and a Daily Record campaign, piling pressure on the government to act, and on June 1, 2025, legislation to ban disposable vapes came into effect.
Laura said: “It makes me so proud to think that Scotland was the starting place for something like this. And since, people from Canada, the US and Ireland have all been in touch about doing the same.
“Looking back now, it was the easiest campaign ever, I had so many people behind me and everyone wanted to get rid of them. It took less than 500 days from starting the campaign to the government actually announcing the ban.
“I’d like to think I could do it again, and I’m now looking towards what campaign I can take on next.”
Green MSP Gillian Mackay said: “Plastic is one of the biggest factor impacting our environment… What Laura managed to achieve in such a short period of time is incredible, the determination she has shown throughout this campaign is a testament to her and should be looked at as an example in years to come.”