Ban disposable vapes to save youths from the ‘Wild West market’ in e-cigarettes, Children’s Commissioner for England says
- Dame Rachel de Souza fears children are under pressure to take part in the habit
- She said some pupils avoid using toilets at school as they are vaping hotspots
Disposable vapes must be banned and others sold in plain packaging to end the ‘Wild West market’ in e-cigarettes, the Children’s Commissioner for England has said.
Dame Rachel de Souza fears that children feel under pressure to take part in the damaging habit.
Some pupils are now avoiding using toilets at school because they are a hotspot for vaping, while others struggle to concentrate in class because of their nicotine addiction, she said.
Dame Rachel said: ‘It is insidious these products are intentionally marketed and promoted to children, both online and offline.
‘I am concerned by the rise in the number of children vaping in this country, particularly given the risks it poses to their health and wellbeing.
Disposable vapes must be banned and others sold in plain packaging to end the ‘Wild West market’ in e-cigarettes, the Children’s Commissioner for England (pictured) has said
Dame Rachel de Souza fears children feel under pressure to take part in the damaging habit
‘It is deeply worrying to hear how children feel pressured to vape. We urgently need stricter regulation of this “Wild West” market.
‘Children deserve to lead long, happy, healthy lives, which is why I am unequivocal in my view that no child should be smoking or vaping.
‘It is deeply worrying to hear accounts from children who now struggle to concentrate for whole lessons, unable to use their vape.
‘Other children are avoiding using school toilets, for fear of peer pressure to join in.’
Some vapes confiscated by schools contain dangerously high levels of nickel and lead, ‘exposure to which can affect the central nervous system and brain development,’ she added.
Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) reports there has been a 50 per cent rise in the last year in Britain in the proportion of children trying vaping.
It found a rise in experimental vaping among 11 to 17-year-olds, from 7.7 per cent last year to 11.6 per cent this year.
As children get older, use of vapes and experimentation increases.
Some 10.4 per cent of 11 to 15-year-olds had vaped, rising to 29.1 per cent of 16 and 17-year-olds.
A Department of Health spokesman said: ‘It is illegal to sell nicotine vapes to children.
‘We are cracking down on underage sales to children with the £3million illicit vapes enforcement squad.’
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