Teenage vaping - what we want to happen to tackle it
"Vapes are harmful and evidence confirms the dangers of vaping, particularly for children with disorders such as lung damage, worsening asthma symptoms, including wheezing, coughing and chest tightness."
The backstory
North Yorkshire Council's annual health and well-being survey, to which more than 17,000 pupils responded, concluded more than one in three of children aged 13 to 15 years old had at least tried vaping, while 9% said they used them regularly.
It found smoking of traditional cigarettes is continuing to decrease and the use of illegal drugs remained low, but some children were starting to vape while still at primary school.
The study also found some 5% of 10 and 11 year-olds pupils responded that they had at least tried vaping.
According to the British Medical Association, 7.6% of those aged 11 to 17 nationally are now vaping, either regularly or occasionally compared to just 1.3% in 2014. The widespread availability of disposable vapes as one of the reason for the sharp rise.
As a result of people speaking up, some local colleges are now offering support to students who want to quit, and public health officials are planning a new course to help educate young people on vaping.
Why are young people vaping?
The reasons young people give for vaping included coping with stress, improving their mental health and peer pressure.
Teenagers and children said they also vaped because the cost was low, they liked the flavours, they were easy to buy and they saw vapes being promoted on social media.
"Over one in ten children, by the time they are 17, are regularly inhaling poison"
"It's that habit of nicotine inhaling for a lifetime and ultimately we are talking about inhaling poisons."
Dr. Kelly has also raised concerns about that vapes are being packaged up to appeal to young people: "The displays around sweets and the displays around vapes, there is almost very little difference, and you'd be really hard pushed, from a distance to tell the difference between the sweets and the vapes, so they are very positively marketed."
Some experts have called for disposable vapes to be banned, but Dr Kelly tells us that would be tricky: "It's going to be very very difficult, once the cat is out the bag to suddenly turn around and say well we're going to ban something, once it's been legal. But it's certainly something that needs to be considered from a central Government point of view."
A call for stronger regulations of vapes
Healthwatch Blackpool findings attracted national interest and were quoted in a previous parliamentary debate that contributed to the previous Government consulting on what steps can be taken to reduce vaping among young people.
Following that previous Government announcement back in January 2024, a new report has been published calling for more to be done by the new Government.
'Taking our breath away: why we need stronger regulations of vapes', a report by the British Medical Association, has made some recommendations, calling on the government to do more to stop children vaping, especially because the long term public health impact of these products is largely unknown.
Recommendations
The British Medical Association recommended:
- Banning the commercial sale of all disposable vapes, on the grounds of disproportionate and harmful use by children and young people and their adverse impact on the environment.
- Banning all non-tobacco vape flavours.
- Prohibiting the use of all imagery, colouring and branding for both the packaging and vape device, similar to current restrictions on cigarettes.
- Further restrictions on all advertising and marketing; and ensure vapes are kept behind the counter and not on display in shops and retail outlets.
- Government education campaigns for the public on the dangers of vapes to reduce appeal, especially among children and young people.
Amongst the recommendations made by the British Medical Association are to ban the commercial sale of all disposable vapes, ban non-tobacco vape flavours, reduce advertising and marketing of vapes and to tackle the illegal sales of vapes.
Our response
Responding to the news, Ashley Green, Chief Executive Officer, Healthwatch North Yorkshire said:
"The rise in teenage vaping could lead to both long-term addiction and lung damage, so action to tackle the issue is welcome.
"Understanding the extent and causes of vaping shines a light on how easy vapes are to buy and how attractive young people find the marketing.
"Steps to curb access to vapes will go a long way, but we also need more work done to raise awareness of the dangers, especially amongst primary school children. And, for those already addicted, they need support to stop.
"The recommendations made to Government and action that is starting to happen is welcome news and a step toward tackling an issue that local Healthwatch have been collectively bringing to national attention."
