Shops could be banned from displaying vapes to protect young people from a “ticking time bomb”.
Scottish Greens MSP Gillian Mackay wants retailers to treat them in the same way as cigarettes and hide them from view.
She intends to ask for a law to crack down on vape products, which often come in bright colours and in a range of sweet flavours.
Mackay said: “This is beyond the days of smoking behind the bike sheds – this is a multi-million industry leading the nation’s health down a path to disaster. It is a ticking time-bomb and, until we know more, that’s not a risk I or anyone else should be asked to accept.”
She has written to shops and vape manufacturers ahead of taking her campaign to the Scottish Parliament.
Mackay, the Green Party’s health spokesman, said there is growing concern that the number of under-age people being attracted by “deliberately sweet-toothed tactics” to market products is spiralling.
She is calling on retailers to lead by example by writing to them urging that they hide the products from view.
The Central Scotland MSP, said: “Scotland should be rightly proud of the huge steps forward taken bringing in a smoking ban in public places introduced in December 2004.
“But I fear the progress it brought is being unpicked by producers of e-cigarettes and vaping products using deliberately sweet-toothed tactics to target a new generation of users and we cannot stand idly by and just hope for the best.
“It cannot be right that these brands are promoting these products with berry, watermelon, mint and other flavours. It is a re-run of when alcopops first appeared on the scene and targeted teeny tipplers.”
In August, Ash Scotland’s chief executive, Sheila Duffy, highlighted the risk of cheap, brightly coloured, highly flavoured vapes.
She described the marketing towards younger people as a “disaster in the making” and warned they were also “an environmental catastrophe” because of their disposable nature. Ash said data showed children as young as seven have used vapes, and at least 35 per cent of 15-year-olds have been identified as users.
Mackay added: “When campaigners such as Ash Scotland warn of the consequences ... politicians must take steps to protect our communities.
“I will be looking closely at what steps we may wish to explore in terms of restrictions on the flavoured products in particular, which are clearly targeted to appeal to a demographic of potential users most likely to be of a younger age.
“In the meantime, I am writing to the main supermarkets and leading retailers urging them to act responsibly and voluntarily ensure such blatant marketing campaigns are unable to cause harm by restricting their product placement.
"Much in the way cigarettes are hidden from view to lessen their appeal, it is up to shops and stores to play their part in supporting the health of the nation before action is taken that will compel them to do so.”
In May this year, the World Health Organisation said evidence revealed vaping products “are harmful to health and are not safe”.
It cited studies which suggested increased risk of heart disease, lung disorders and warnings that pregnancies could be impacted by exposure.
It also said non-smokers and bystanders may be put at risk, and highlighted the risk of accidental consumption by young children.
E-cig and vape sellers must be on the Register of Tobacco and Nicotine Vapour Product retailers or risk heavy fines or even imprisonment.
