North East campaigners have backed a charity's call for the Government to tax disposable vaping products such as the popular Elf Bars.
Charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) said that an excise tax on cheap vapes in Chancellor Jeremy Hunt's budget next month would reduce their affordability and discourage children from buying them. The cheapest vapes can be bought for less than a fiver.
The charity said a levy of £4 would make the disposable vapes the same price as the cheapest reusable but still cheaper than more harmful cigarettes. This has been echoed by the North East health campaign group Fresh.
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Fresh's director Ailsa Rutter OBE, said: "Vaping can help adult smokers to quit and this is something we are encouraging as we also know vaping is much less harmful than smoking. But at the same time it is important that measures are taken to reduce the appeal of vaping to children and young people, as vaping isn’t risk-free and we don’t want non-smokers to take it up.
“The data from the North East shows most young people are not vaping regularly but we need to be vigilant around this and we are urging retailers to abide by the law and not sell to under 18s. We also need the government to tighten loopholes in current legislation.”
ASH is also pushing for increased funding to be funnelled towards enforcement and regulation of disposable vapes. The public health charity - set up by the Royal College of Physicians - wants to see youth vaping reduced while not undermining the push to get adult smokers to switch to less harmful products. The Local Government Association has also backed the idea of keeping vapes "out of sight" in shops.
Deborah Arnott, chief executive of at ASH, said: "Smoking is much more harmful than vaping and smoking remains the biggest threat to our children’s health. But vaping is not risk-free, and in the light of the recent increase in children vaping government action is urgently needed to tighten regulation and increase enforcement.
“Children who vape mainly use cheap disposables, which can be bought for under a fiver. They could easily be made less affordable in the March Budget with the introduction of a specific tax for single use disposable vapes. In one simple step this would reduce both child vaping and the vast quantities of single use vapes being thrown into landfill.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "We have introduced tough regulations to deter the appeal of vaping to children, including restrictions on product advertising, setting limits on nicotine strength, labelling and safety requirements, and making it illegal to sell nicotine vapes to those aged under 18 years old.
"We are carefully considering the recommendations from the Khan Review, including what more can be done to protect children from vaping."
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