From local to national - Action to tackle teen vaping
The Government has announced that they will be taking steps to curb a surge in vaping by young people.
Steps include:
- Ban on disposable vapes which have driven a rise in youth vaping;
- New powers to restrict vape flavours, introducing plain packaging and changing how vapes are displayed in shops so they don’t appeal to children; and
- A new law to make it illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009.
This is welcome news and a step toward tackling an issue which Healthwatch Blackpool helped bring to national attention last year.
The backstory
Following a rise in concerns about young people using e-cigarettes and vapes, Healthwatch Blackpool collected feedback from 4,170 local children and young people, 297 parents and carers and 138 professionals.
Over three in ten (31%) children and young people who participated in the research said they currently or sometimes vape. Over 40% of those who vaped did this daily; a similar number had been using vapes for a year or more.
The reasons young people gave 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.
They sell them to us even though they know we're underage, it's all over Blackpool they don't care.
Half of young people thought that better education about the dangers of using vapes would help.
A third of teachers and professionals voiced concerns about the lack of research on vaping, and over two in five parents and carers raised concerns about safety and the impact on young people's long-term health.
Healthwatch Blackpool shared its findings with both local and national decision-makers.
As a result of people speaking up, 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.
The findings have also attracted national interest and were quoted in a parliamentary debate and contributed to the Government consulting on what steps can be taken to reduce vaping among young people.
What more needs to be done
Responding to the news, Louise Ansari, Chief Executive of Healthwatch England said:
"The rise in teenage vaping could lead to both long-term addiction and lung damage, so action to tackle the issue is welcome.
"The work by Healthwatch Blackpool with thousands of young people to understand the extent and causes of vaping shone a light on how easy vapes are to buy and how attractive they 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."
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