Rapid uptake in England of underage vaping prompts health warnings
The number of teenagers regularly vaping has jumped to one in seven, according to a new survey of schools in northern England, fuelling further calls from government advisers and medics for popular flavoured e-cigarettes to be banned.
Fourteen per cent of children aged between 14 and 17-years-old said they used vapes, more than once a week at the end of March, up from just six per cent in spring 2020, according to Trading Standards North West.
Deborah Arnott, chief executive of health charity Action on Smoking and Health, agreed that an outright ban on flavours would be counterproductive. Instead, ASH wants the government to put an excise tax of £4 on disposable vapes to make them less affordable.
Kingsley Wheaton, chief growth officer at British American Tobacco, which launched its disposable vape Vuse Go last year, stressed the product helped adult smokers to quit, arguing it was “an additional choice in a convenient format”.
In the year to early April, disposable vapes generated nearly £1bn in sales across the UK, according to Nielsen IQ data. Elf Bar and Lost Mary — which are owned by Shenzhen-based vaping company Heaven Gifts International — accounted for about three-quarters of sales.
The Department of Health and Social Care did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Heaven Gifts International declined to comment.
This story originally appeared on: Financial Times - Author:Oliver Barnes
