The government ‘missed warnings’ on the rise of e-cigarettes and now Britain’s youth have sleepwalked into a vaping epidemic, experts claim.
Smokers aged 18 and over are encouraged by the NHS and the Government to use vaping to help get off cigarettes and they are seen as a key tool for the UK to become smoke-free by 2030.
Yet it is out of step with other countries across the world with Australia recently announcing it was banning imports of disposable vapes from January as it tries to fight off a nicotine addiction in children.
Experts have raised questions about Britain’s keenness to promote e-cigarettes while other countries remain cautious with one musing ‘we are either the smartest group of people on the planet or a bunch of idiots’.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak unveiled bold plans in October to stamp out the child vaping epidemic and is looking at banning child-friendly flavours and packaging which is encouraging kids to pick up the habit.
Professor Andy Bush, an expert in respiratory disease in children, wondered why the UK had been so keen to adopt vaping without as many restrictions as many countries.
He told The Times: ‘The UK is pretty much out of step with the rest of the world. ‘Which either means we’re the smartest group of people on the planet or a bunch of idiots.’
In 2018 Public Health England (PHE) – now The UK Health Security Agency – was accused of ‘complacency’ by three British paediatricians after the rise in popularity of vaping in US high schools and warned of risking ‘a further epidemic of devastating lung disease’.
But the UK’s health organisation appeared not to heed the warning and went on to say it had some of the ‘strictest regulation for e-cigarettes in the world’.
A blog in 2018 – updated in February 2019 – said it had found no evidence that vaping would lead young people into smoking.
In July this year it was reported that kids as young as eight are vaping.
The shock data, collated by a Trading Standards branch, was shared at a Lancashire County Council meeting last week.
It also revealed that one in six teens there are now regular vapers — almost triple the proportion in 2020.
Members of the Tory-led council slammed ‘unscrupulous businesses’ selling brightly coloured and fruity vapes to children for ‘pocket money prices’.
Doctors fear there could be a wave of lung disease, dental issues and even cancer in the coming decades in people who took up the habit at a young age.
Only last month figures showed two dozen children have been hospitalised due to vaping over the past two years.
Hospital admission rates for ‘vaping-related disorders’ in under-20s in general have risen six-fold over the same period, amid an exploding e-cigarette epidemic among youths.
Usage rates among teens have almost doubled in a decade, leading the Government to promise a crackdown on vapes being sold and marketed to minors.
Since the start of 2022, there have been 24 vaping-related hospitalisations for children aged under ten.
Dr Mike McKean, vice-president for policy at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said: ‘Just as bold action is needed to tackle smoking, so too is it needed to tackle the rise in youth vaping.
‘We would once again remind the Government that nothing short of a ban on these unsustainable products will adequately protect our children.’
Professor Nicholas Hopkinson, of the charity Action on Smoking and Health, said: ‘Although this isn’t on the scale of passive smoking, which causes around 5,000 children to be admitted to hospital every year in this country, any hospital admission is a concern.
‘The simple message is growing lungs need to breathe clean air.
‘In young people, vaping can cause irritation to the airways in the lung and aggravate asthma. We know what worked to bring down smoking rates in early teens.
At the beginning of this year Professor Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, called for a major clampdown on firms who get kids hooked on colourful flavoured e-cigarettes.
Sir Chris told MPs in February that there is ‘no doubt’ companies are designing vapes to appeal to children and branded their actions ‘appalling’.
Giving evidence to the Commons health and social care committee, he said officials must do ‘everything we can’ to reduce vaping among youngsters.
Research published last year found the proportion of children using e-cigs is on the rise, with many being influenced by social media sites including TikTok.
Newer, disposable e-cigarettes are increasing in popularity, in part because they cost around £5 each and come in a wide range of colours and fruity flavours.
Prof Bush told MailOnline in April ‘we are sleepwalking into an existential crisis for children’ in response to this news outlet’s investigation into vaping and said our dossier was ‘scary’ proof firms are desperately trying to lure kids in, sentencing them to a lifetime of nicotine addiction.
Tackling the rise in vaping among children was highlighted by Mr Sunak in October as a Government priority.
‘We must act before it becomes endemic so we will also bring forward measures to restrict the availability of vapes to our children, looking at flavours, packaging and disposable vapes,’ he said.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: ‘Vaping is rightly used by adults as a tool to quit smoking, but the health advice is clear: if you don’t smoke, don’t vape – and children should never vape. That’s precisely why we have already taken action and consulted on ways to reduce the appeal and availability of vapes to children and young people.
‘Research shows consumer vapes are the most effective approach to quitting smoking in England, leading to an estimated 50,000 more people quitting every year. We are also funding a world-first ‘swap to stop’ scheme to offer a million adult smokers across England a free vaping starter kit.’
William Turner is a seasoned U.K. correspondent with a deep understanding of domestic affairs. With a passion for British politics and culture, he provides insightful analysis and comprehensive coverage of events within the United Kingdom.
