Should there be heavier restrictions on vapes to stop use among children?

MPs call for heavier restrictions on vapes to stop use among children

The Health and Social Care Committee said a headteacher had told MPs that hydraulic oil and antifreeze were found in a vape confiscated at her school.

MPs have called for heavier restrictions on the packaging and marketing of vapes to “tackle an alarming trend” in the number of children using them.

The Health and Social Care Committee said the Government should consider bringing in plain packaging for e-cigarettes in line with other tobacco products.

It said it believes the messaging around vaping as a tool to help smokers quit can be maintained, but more should be done on education, enforcement and regulations to keep them out of the reach of children.

It also called for a review of the enforcement powers of trading standards to stop vapes being sold to children.

Steve Brine, chairman of the Health and Social Care Committee, said “decisive action is needed” from Government and industry to “tackle an alarming trend in the number of children vaping and to protect them from its harmful effects”.

He added: “It’s clear to us that the vaping industry has not gone far enough to ensure that its products don’t appeal to children.

“When you have brightly-coloured and branded vapes with flavours that name unicorns, sweets and popular fizzy drinks displayed in locations ranging from newsagents to chicken shops, it’s disingenuous for the industry to claim otherwise.

“We heard a wake-up call from a headteacher who told us that hydraulic oil and antifreeze, along with other extremely concerning chemicals, were found in a vape confiscated at her school.

“Ministers need to focus, across government, on the impact vaping is having in our schools, whether that be setting off smoke alarms in toilets or restricting access to them entirely for young people. We’ve heard this issue is really impacting on the delivery of education in schools and, post-pandemic in particular, this is the last thing we can afford.”

The call from MPs comes after the British Medical Association (BMA) said it would review the dangers of vaping.

A motion was passed at the organisation’s annual representative meeting in Liverpool earlier in July which also said vapes should be sold in plain packaging.

At the time, Dr Ryan Devlin from the BMA’s Lothian division, said the number of young people using vapes is “staggering” as they “should not have access to them”.

In June, NHS figures revealed 40 children and young people were admitted to hospital in England last year for “vaping-related disorders”, up from 11 two years earlier.

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) also warned e-cigarettes “are not a risk-free product and can be just as addictive, if not more so, than traditional cigarettes”.

On Saturday, local authorities joined the call for an outright ban on disposable vapes.

The Local Government Association (LGA) said single-use e-cigarettes should be banned by 2024 on environmental and health grounds.

France is considering a ban by the end of 2023, with the European Union expected to follow suit in 2026.

A Department for Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “While vaping is a preferable alternative to smoking for adults, it is illegal to sell nicotine vapes to children and we are concerned about the recent rises in youth vaping – particularly the use of disposable vaping products.

“We launched a call for evidence to identify opportunities to reduce the number of children accessing and using vape products, exploring a range of issues including the marketing and promotion of vapes. The call for evidence has now closed, and the government will be considering a range of options based on the evidence provided.

“We are also taking bold action to crack down on youth vaping through the £3 million illicit vapes enforcement squad to tackle underage sales to children.”

What are your views? Is enough being done to ensure that children are not able to access vapes? Do you have experience with young family members using vapes?