It took years to learn the deadly lessons of cigarettes. We can’t wait so long for vaping

‘A huge red flag’: The Royal College of Paediatricians has warned of an ‘epidemic’ of vaping among children, who are more likely to be attracted by brightly coloured vape packaging and sweet flavours. Photograph: Nicholas. T .Ansell/PA

Blueberry bubblegum. Lemon pie. Caramel cheesecake. Sickly-sweet concoctions that are just a fraction of the dessert-flavoured nicotine vapes available to buy in newsagents for not much more than a high-end chocolate bar, in bright packaging often adorned with cartoon illustrations designed to appeal to children. It is a huge red flag that something has gone seriously amiss in the rules that govern e-cigarette marketing and sales in the UK.

What makes the question of how to regulate vaping more complex than cigarettes or alcohol is that, unlike with the latter two substances – where a collective fall in consumption would be an unambiguously good thing for the nation’s health – public health experts want to encourage smokers to switch from cigarettes to vapes while keeping non-smokers, particularly children and young people, well away from vaping.