Paediatricians have called for the Government to ban disposable vapes to avoid “sleepwalking into a crisis” amid an “epidemic among children”.
The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) warned that e-cigarettes “are not a risk-free product and can be just as addictive, if not more so than traditional cigarettes”.
In response to the Government consultation on e-cigarettes, which closes on Tuesday, the group calls for urgent action to protect youngsters.
It comes as New Zealand announced it would ban some disposable units and limit sales near schools as it extends aggressive anti-smoking campaigns.
Experts agree that longer-term data is needed on the effects of vaping, particularly in regard to cardiovascular disease.
“Since e-cigarettes have only been on sale in the UK since 2007, long-term studies don’t yet exist,” the RCPCH report said.
“We have even less evidence on the long-term impacts of these products on young lungs, hearts and brains.
“It took experts decades to fully understand the impact of traditional cigarettes, we cannot risk our children’s health in waiting this long again for longer-term studies.”
In May, data for Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) showed there has been a 50 per cent rise in the proportion of children trying vaping in the last year across Great Britain.
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.
Children were asked if they had ever tried vaping once or twice, with the proportion roughly doubling in nine years, from 5.6 per cent in 2014 to 11.6 per cent.
Disposable vapes appear to be the e-cigarette of choice among youngsters, while purchases of vapes are mostly made from corner shops.
In 2021, current child vapers were least likely to vape disposables (7.7 per cent) but in 2022 they became the most used (52 per cent) and this has continued to grow to 69 per cent in 2023.
It is illegal to sell vapes to under-18s but social media carries posts from teenagers showing vapes and discussing flavours such as pink lemonade, strawberry, banana and mango.
Its vice president for policy and paediatric respiratory consultant, Dr Mike McKean, said: “Without a doubt, disposable e-cigarettes should be banned.
“There is absolutely no reason that these cheap, readily available, brightly coloured, recreational products should be single use.
“Youth vaping is fast becoming an epidemic among children, and I fear that if action is not taken, we will find ourselves sleepwalking into a crisis.
“Westminster’s approach to this problem is out of step with even our closest neighbours, with countries such as Scotland, France, Germany, and Ireland all seriously considering a ban.
“The Government in Westminster has the responsibility and capability to make a choice that will have far-reaching consequences, potentially for generations to come.”
It comes after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said a new Government crackdown on vape marketing will prevent the “unacceptable” targeting of children and young people, with a pledge to close a loophole allowing retailers to give free samples of vapes to children in England.
The Government has said that there will also be a review into banning retailers selling “nicotine-free” vapes to under-18s.
Regarding its evidence to ministers, Deborah Arnott, chief executive of Ash, said it called for tougher regulations last year but was ignored.
“Children are highly price sensitive so top of our list is to make disposable vapes less affordable by adding a £5 excise tax, which could be achieved immediately with a finance bill.
“This would not only increase the price but also make their distribution subject to much more stringent controls, making it easier to prevent illicit and underage sales.”
Ash said it does not support a complete ban on disposable vapes at this time, believing it will drive “the illicit market thereby making it harder, not easier, to ensure products are recycled”.
A Department for Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We are taking bold action to crack down on youth vaping through the £3 million illicit vapes enforcement squad to tackle underage sales to children.
“We have also launched a call for evidence to identify opportunities to reduce the number of children accessing and using vape products and explore where the government can go further.”
