In 2022, 7% of 11-17 year olds surveyed had used e-cigarettes, compared to just 3.3% in 2021.
While crackdowns on the illegal sale of e-cigarettes to minors are sorely needed, they are “just the tip of the iceberg.”
The UK government has promised the public a comprehensive crackdown on the illegal sale of vapes to under-18s, and will introduce tough new laws to tackle the problem.
A dedicated enforcement team targeting illegal vaping has been set up, led by the UK Trading Standards Department and funded with up to £3m, to comb through vaping shops and businesses to identify and remove substandard products from the supply chain .
The UK government has also issued a call for evidence to “identify the reasons and opportunities that can be used to reduce the number of children accessing and using vapes”. This evidence is expected to be compiled and published next week.
Many measures are being discussed hotly in recent days, in the context of the situation of young people using vape is skyrocketing in the UK. According to the latest survey by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH - an organization for a smoke-free environment and public health), the number of minors (11 - 17 years old) using e-cigarettes has increased continuously in recent years, not only that, this group of people is also showing signs of rejuvenation - which is extremely worrying not only for management agencies but also dangerous for every household with children of teenage age.
The plan to end the illegal sale of e-cigarettes to minors has the support of the vast majority of people in the UK, including vape manufacturers. The British Vaping Association has been calling for years for the authorities to take a tougher line on what it calls “rogue resellers”, who sell vapes without a physical storefront or documentation to prove the origin of their products. Such resellers often have no idea who their customers are and will sell them to underage people, of course. If the government strictly monitors the distribution of vapes, it will greatly reduce the chances of e-cigarettes reaching minors.
On the other hand, health experts believe that controlling the supply of vapes will have little impact on the vaping situation among minors. They believe that to solve this problem, manufacturers and governments need to sit down together right from the design stage to come up with vape models that are… less attractive to children and teenagers.
“We are relieved that the government and community organisations are really taking notice of the rise in children vaping in recent years ,” said Dr Mike McKean, vice-president at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. “But I think law enforcement alone is not enough, this is just the tip of the iceberg.”
“Vapes are currently too cheap, too flashy and clearly too accessible to minors,” added Dr McKean , who attributed the problem to the vape products themselves, which come with eye-catching packaging and equally “bizarre” and appealing names/flavors.
He called for tougher measures against product promotion campaigns.
“Vapes should be presented as a smoking cessation tool rather than a symbol of a punk lifestyle - something that all teenagers enjoy.”
The Department of Health and Social Care said its call for evidence would provide a solid basis for developing plans to reduce underage vaping while still being able to “ensure vaping remains available to adults as an effective smoking cessation aid”.
This will almost certainly spark a series of debates about new advertising and marketing methods for vapes. Some vape manufacturers have argued that fruit flavors and nicotine in vapes are the two prerequisites for quitting smoking, so it is impossible to completely cut nicotine or remove "best-selling" flavors such as blueberry or lemon, etc.
Last year, social media users were surprised by how popular accounts (influencers) were using to circumvent the law, openly advertising vape products on the Tik-Tok application, where the age limit is only 13+. In addition, in many places, vape manufacturers also run rampant advertising campaigns on buses or electric billboards, which is beyond the permitted level in promoting a product containing nicotine.
According to UK Health Minister Neil O'Brien, the UK government is extremely concerned about the fact that vape users are getting younger, especially the rapid growth of disposable products (single-use pods) which, if not controlled soon, will be the shortest path to "a generation of young people addicted to nicotine". Mr. O'Brien also added: "The evidence collected through our call will allow us to understand what needs to be done at different stages if we want to reduce the rate of minors using vapes".
Deborah Arnott, chief executive of ASH, said her organisation welcomed the government’s initiatives but more work would be needed before underage vaping could be tackled. “The government’s call for evidence is timely and sensible,” Ms Arnott said. “One of the issues that needs to be addressed immediately is disposable vapes. Cheap disposable pods need to be taxed so they are no longer available and cannot be bought at ‘schoolboy’ prices. There needs to be regulation to control where they can be sold and bans on colourful packaging, boxes with cartoon characters or names like ‘gummy bear’. As I said, this needs to be done immediately, any delay will have serious consequences.”
The Vape Club is also working to end the problem of young customers purchasing from our stores. We hope that The Vape Club can contribute to the effort to reduce the number of young people using vapes when they are underage, as well as create a safe environment and community for those who want to use vaping for its intended purpose, as an effective smoking cessation tool.
Source: Underage vaping to be targeted by UK government's 'enforcement squad'
The Vape Club translation
