Children’s doctors warn youth vaping ‘fast becoming epidemic’ as they call for disposable vapes ban

Children’s doctors are calling for a complete ban on disposable vapes after warning youth vaping is “fast becoming an epidemic”.

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) has warned that e-cigarettes “are not a risk-free product and can be just as addictive, if not more so than traditional cigarettes”. The warning comes in response to the government consultation on e-cigarettes which closes on Tuesday (6 June).

The RCPCH is demanding urgent action to protect young people from the harmful effects of vaping, and said longer-term data is needed on health impacts, particularly in regard to cardiovascular disease.

It said: “Since e-cigarettes have only been on sale in the UK since 2007, long-term studies don’t yet exist. We have even less evidence on the long-term impacts of these products on young lungs, hearts and brains. It took experts decades to fully understand the impact of traditional cigarettes, we cannot risk our children’s health in waiting this long again for longer-term studies.”

It comes after data for Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) in May showed there has been a 50% rise in the last year in Great Britain in the proportion of children trying vaping.

It found a rise in experimental vaping among 11 to 17-year-olds, which increased from 7.7% last year to 11.6% this year. Additionally, the proportion of children who said they had tried vaping once or twice has roughly doubled in nine years, from 5.6% in 2014 to 11.6%.

Disposable vapes appear to be the most popular e-cigarette among young people, with vape purchases mostly made from corner shops. In 2021, current child vapers were least likely to vape disposables (7.7%) but in 2022 they became the most used (52%) and this has continued to grow to 69% in 2023.

It is illegal to sell vapes to under-18s but social media carries posts from teenagers showing vapes and discussing a variety of flavours, including pink lemonade, strawberry, banana and mango.

In its submission, the RCPCH also said the “serious environmental impact of disposable e-cigarettes” must not be ignored. Its vice president for policy and paediatric respiratory consultant, Dr Mike McKean, said: “Without a doubt, disposable e-cigarettes should be banned.

“There is absolutely no reason that these cheap, readily available, brightly coloured, recreational products should be single use. Youth vaping is fast becoming an epidemic among children, and I fear that if action is not taken, we will find ourselves sleepwalking into a crisis.

“Westminster’s approach to this problem is out of step with even our closest neighbours, with countries such as Scotland, France, Germany, and Ireland all seriously considering a ban…The government in Westminster has the responsibility and capability to make a choice that will have far-reaching consequences, potentially for generations to come.”

In its response to the consultation, Ash said there were “four high-impact interventions” that ministers must urgently bring in. These are:

• put a specific tax on disposable vapes of £5
• prohibit branding that would appeal to children
• reinstate funding for sustained anti-smoking campaigns promoting vaping as the most effective quitting aid available for adult smokers
• prohibit in-store promotion of e-cigarettes with exemptions for age-restricted, specialist vape shops

It comes after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said a new government crackdown on vape marketing will prevent the “unacceptable” targeting of children and young people, with a pledge to close a loophole allowing retailers to give free samples of vapes to children in England.

Sunak also recently used an appearance on ITV’s Good Morning Britain to highlight concern about his own daughters potentially being targeted by vape marketing, before saying the government will conduct a review into banning retailers selling “nicotine-free” vapes to under-18s.

A Department for Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “It is illegal to sell nicotine vapes to children and we are concerned about the recent rises in youth vaping – particularly because of the unknown long-term harms.

“We are taking bold action to crack down on youth vaping through the £3 million illicit vapes enforcement squad to tackle underage sales to children. We have also launched a call for evidence to identify opportunities to reduce the number of children accessing and using vape products and explore where the government can go further.”