VAPE CRACKDOWN
Disposable vapes will be BANNED and e-cigarettes restricted to just 4 flavours to protect kids
Manufacturers must also introduce plain packaging, Rishi Sunak will announce
DISPOSABLE vapes are to be banned to tackle the rise in youths taking up the habit, says the PM.
Curbs on flavours aimed at kids and where they can be displayed will also come in.
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Manufacturers must also introduce plain packaging in a crackdown to be announced on a school visit by Rishi Sunak.
Trading standards officers will be able to dish out on-the-spot fines to shops illegally selling vapes to kids, on top of the £2,500 penalty currently imposed by councils.
It comes after the number of youngsters vaping tripled in three years, with nine per cent of 11 to 15 year-olds using them.
Mr Sunak said action must be taken “before it becomes endemic”.
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The PM added: “While vaping can be a useful tool to help smokers quit, marketing vapes to children is not acceptable.”
The changes are part of a government response to a consultation on smoking and vaping last October.
Vape flavours could be limited to just tobacco, mint, menthol and fruit, under the plans.
Professor Caitlin Notley, of the University of East Anglia, said: "The government announcement marks a real step forward in efforts to achieve a smokefree generation."
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Deborah Arnott, chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health, added: “The Government is taking vital powers to control the design and promotion of e-cigarettes to prevent them being promoted to children.
"The comic characters, bright colours and sweet names so appealing to children are unacceptable for products that should only be promoted to adults as an aid to quitting smoking.”
Doctors from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health also welcomed the ban, saying "banning disposables is a meaningful step in the right direction".
Health and Social Care Committee chairman Steve Brine said it is "disingenuous" of vape manufacturers to claim they have gone far enough to prevent the devices appealing to children.
He said: "We support new powers to restrict vape flavours, introduce plain packaging and change how vapes are displayed in shops."
Mr Sunak announced a ban on selling cigarettes to young people last year, raising the legal age every year until there are no smokers left.
It means a 14-year-old today will never legally be sold a cigarette.
The ban on disposable vapes comes after the PM admitted he was afraid his 10 and 12-year-old daughters would take up vaping.
At least two pupils in every year 10 classroom have vaped at one point or another, according to the NHS.
Health risks of vaping in children
Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said it was “utterly unacceptable” for children to be using them.
The health effects of nicotine on youngsters is not well understood but there are fears they could switch to cigarettes after getting addicted, or it could affect brain development.
But Marcus Saxton, chairman of the Independent British Trade and Vape Association, said the vape ban will only make it harder for smokers to quit.
He added: “Big tobacco will be rubbing its hands with glee in anticipation of possible vape bans and increasing their sales.”
The government announcement marks a real step forward in efforts to achieve a smokefree generation
Professor Caitlin Notley
Christopher Snowdon, of the Institute of Economic Affairs, said the policy will be "counterproductive".
He said: "Most of the government’s anti-vaping policies are effectively pro-smoking policies as they will drive vapers back to cigarettes."
Professor Notley added: "The banning of disposable vapes is also intended to prevent young people from starting to use nicotine.
"Whilst we all agree that it is important to protect children, I think it is vital the we focus less on the vaping ban and more on wiping out tobacco from our population, as this is what will have the greatest impact on population health."
But Health Secretary Victoria Atkins said the Government will introduce a "package of measures" to prevent people taking up smoking in the first place.
She told BBC Breakfast that ministers "want to help children avoid the horrendous pull of a nicotine habit which for which vapes can very often be the gateway".
She said banning disposable vapes will most likely come into force early next year.
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Asked about campaigners saying bans, including the plan to stop children buying tobacco, will not work, she said: "I'm old enough to remember a time when you could walk into a pub and it was filled with smoke and everybody at the time when that was being debated said 'oh this will never work'.
"Nowadays of course you would be astonished if somebody tried to spark up a cigarette in a pub or a public facility."
What are the health risks of vaping?
Although e-cigarettes are almost certainly significantly less harmful than smoking tobacco, they aren’t risk free.
Most e-cigarettes contain nicotine, which is highly addictive, as well as other ingredients such as propylene glycol, glycerine and flavourings.
E-cigarettes have been regulated by the government since May 2016. From April 2017 it’s illegal to sell e-cigarettes to, or buy them for, under 18s.
If you use e-cigarettes as a complete replacement for smoking, you’ll almost certainly benefit your health.
The health benefit comes from stopping smoking, not using an e-cigarette.
It will be some time until studies will show the long-term impact and any unforeseen risks of using e-cigarettes.
More is known about the safety and effectiveness of other stop smoking medications.
Source: NHS Inform
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