Disturbing new figures have revealed a massive rise in vaping among teens - prompting more calls for a ban on disposable e-cigs.
A staggering one in ten school kids in S4 say they vape regularly, a threefold increase in the last five years, new Scottish Government data suggests.
And the rate for 13-year-olds in S2 has also more than doubled, with 4.3 per cent of this age group routinely smoking e-cigs.
The shock rise comes amid the Daily Record’s campaign to outlaw environmentally-damaging disposable vapes, with single-use brands exploding in popularity in the last couple of years.
It’s feared these brightly-coloured, candy-favoured gadgets are being targeted at kids and youngsters.
Following the launch of the Record’s campaign to highlight the environmental and litter menace posed by throwaway vapes, the Scottish Government announced an “urgent review” to consider measures including a potential ban.
Anti-smoking charity ASH Scotland said kids using vaping products also posed a major public health worry.
Chief executive Sheila Duffy said: “Most vaping products include nicotine, which is highly addictive, and toxic e-liquids that have not been safety tested for inhalation, and could risk damage to their growing lungs over time.
“Young people who experiment with e-cigarettes are three times as likely to start cigarette smoking than those who do not, and this is a prospect we should all want our children to avoid.
“Promoting novel products such as recreational e-cigarettes is one way in which the tobacco industry is reaching out to future generations of potential consumers - and it is an issue that needs to be tackled by the Scottish Government as a matter of urgency."
Scottish Greens health spokeswoman Gillian Mackay said: “It can surely be no coincidence that these hugely alarming figures come around the same time as the popularity of such environmentally-damaging brands has surged.`
"This strengthens our resolve and the need to pursue a ban on disposables vigorously on both public health and pollution grounds.
“If we do nothing, we are facing a health and environmental disaster, so we must act now.”
In 2018, figures from the Scottish Schools Adolescent Lifestyle and Substance Use Survey put regular vaping by 13-year-olds at 2 per cent and at 3 per cent for 15-year-olds.
The Scottish Government’s Health and Wellbeing Census 2021-22, published earlier this week, found 10.1 per cent of S4 students and 4.3 per cent of S2 students now report using e-cigarettes regularly - meaning at least weekly.
The census, which surveyed 25,380 S2 and S4 pupils, also revealed those living in the most deprived areas were more likely to routinely vape (7.8 per cent) than those in the most affluent areas (4.6 per cent).
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: "Any action we seek to take will build on the regulations already in place to restrict the marketing, promotion and sale of vaping products to under-18s."
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