The number of children using vapes has tripled in the last three years, and there is strong government evidence to suggest that cheap and easy-to-use disposable vapes are partly to blame. Their research shows that in 2023, around 69 per cent of vapers aged 11 to 17 in Great Britain were using disposable vapes, up from 7.7 percent in 2021.
The government say this is extremely worrying given the unknown long-term health impacts and the addictive nature of the nicotine in vapes. They say that while vaping can play a role in helping adult smokers to quit, the NHS advises that you shouldn’t take it up if you don’t already smoke– and children should never vape.
To deter children from using vapes, the government is tightening regulations on flavours, packaging, and store displays. In England and Wales, trading standards officers will be able to issue instant fines of up to £100 for selling tobacco and vapes to minors. The sales ban is supported by nearly 70% of respondents in a public consultation on smoking and vaping, including parents, teachers, and healthcare professionals.
The government say this is extremely worrying given the unknown long-term health impacts and the addictive nature of the nicotine in vapes. They say that while vaping can play a role in helping adult smokers to quit, the NHS advises that you shouldn’t take it up if you don’t already smoke– and children should never vape.
To deter children from using vapes, the government is tightening regulations on flavours, packaging, and store displays. In England and Wales, trading standards officers will be able to issue instant fines of up to £100 for selling tobacco and vapes to minors. The sales ban is supported by nearly 70% of respondents in a public consultation on smoking and vaping, including parents, teachers, and healthcare professionals.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Oh, the disposable ones, yes. Absolutely. Get rid of them. Get rid of them. Kids shouldn't
00:07 be doing that. It's bad enough being a smoker. Kids shouldn't be doing that one at all. So
00:12 I agree with that. That is just straight to an adult thing at all. Because I think they're
00:16 just doing it because it's a fashion thing. And, you know, all these wonderful flavours
00:21 and everything. It's what entices them. But it's not good. It's not good. We don't have
00:26 enough data to know, like 20, 30 years' data, to know what the impact of that will be.
00:32 The number of children using vapes has tripled in the last three years. And there is strong
00:37 government evidence to suggest that cheap and easy-to-use disposable vapes are partly
00:42 to blame. Their research shows that in 2023, around 69% of vapers aged 11 to 17 in Great
00:50 Britain were using disposable vapes. That's up from 7.7% in 2021. The government say this
00:57 is extremely worrying, given the unknown long-term health impacts and the addictive nature of
01:04 the nicotine in vapes. They add that while vaping can play a role in helping adult smokers
01:09 quit, the NHS advises that you shouldn't take yourself if you don't already smoke. And children
01:16 should never vape.
01:17 I was walking past a vape shop the other day, and I really did look in there this time,
01:22 because I don't vape. And I noticed all the bright colours. And that would be such a pull
01:26 to young people, you know, just to entice them in. And clearly, that is what it's designed
01:32 for.
01:33 As a non-smoker as well, so I find it hard to, like, say anything, because I don't know
01:36 what it's like to really, like, you know, to need to have a cigarette or to need that.
01:39 And then, like, because vapes, obviously, as far as I know, are better than having actually
01:44 cigarettes. Yeah, I suppose I think it is, if someone really needs something, and it's
01:52 better to have that than to be smoking.
01:54 But I know there's quite a big issue with young people vaping. So obviously, if they
01:58 can't get their hands on them, then that's for the better. But then obviously, there's
02:02 the issue with them coming from other sources and not necessarily being checked.
02:10 I think the government shouldn't interfere with people's lives, because they don't interfere
02:14 in other people's lives. Like, let's say, they do all kinds of stuff. They allow all
02:18 kinds of people to do whatever they want. So when it comes to vapes, I personally don't
02:22 do it.
02:23 I do have a friend that vapes, and they are trying to stop vaping. But he's struggling
02:29 with that. My own thing, I personally don't like it when I walk by somebody that's vaping,
02:35 and they don't actually consider where that secondary smoke is going.
02:41 In England and Wales, trading standards officers will be able to issue instant fines of up
02:46 to £100 for selling tobacco and vapes to minors. The sales ban is supported by nearly
02:52 70% of respondents in a public consultation on smoking and vaping, and that included parents,
03:00 teachers and healthcare professionals.
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