Waitrose has halted sales of single-use vaping products, which have soared in popularity over the past year.

The supermarket chain said it cannot justify selling them, given their impact on the environment and “health of young people”.

Two types of single-use e-cigarettes have now been removed from sale as a result, it said.

Waitrose said it has de-listed vaping products containing lithium, which it has historically sold under the Ten Motives label.

“Our move comes as reports suggest that the market growth is being fuelled by the popularity among those who haven’t previously smoked,” the company said.

We are a retailer driven by doing the right thing

Figures from the Office for National Statistics last month revealed that the proportion of traditional smokers in the UK fell to the lowest on record last year, partly due to the increase in vaping.

The ONS said that vaping devices such as e-cigarettes have played a “major role” in reducing the prevalence of smoking across the UK.

However, it added that the proportion of vapers is highest among current cigarette smokers (25.3%) and ex-cigarette smokers (15.0%), with only 1.5% of people who have never smoked reporting that they currently vape.

Waitrose commercial director Charlotte Di Cello said: “We are a retailer driven by doing the right thing, so selling single-use vapes is not something we could justify given the impact on both the environment and the health of young people.

“We had already decided it wasn’t right to stock the fashionable bright-coloured devices which are seeing rapid growth – so this decision is the final jigsaw piece in our clear decision not to be part of the single-use vaping market.”