A new study has found that children are influenced by social media to vape, with the number of under-18s who have used the smoking substitutes on the rise. Platforms like TikTok have been criticised for allowing users to glamorise the habit.
The study was shared exclusively with the PA news agency and shows that newer, disposable e-cigarettes are increasing in popularity. They cost around £5 each and come in a wide range of fruity flavours with the most popular brands being Elf Bar and Geek Bar.
Data from the survey of children, carried out for Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) and part-funded by the Department of Health, shows many youngsters are attracted to the devices. Some 2,613 children across Great Britain took part in the survey, carried out by YouGov in March, which informed ASH's report.
The data showed the proportion of children aged 11 to 17 currently vaping has jumped from four percent in 2020 to seven percent in 2022. The percentage who have ever tried vaping has also risen, from 14 percent in 2020 to 16 percent in 2022.
In 2013, just three percent of children aged 11 to 15 had ever vaped, but this rose to eight percent in 2020 and 10 percent in 2022. For those aged 16 and 17, the figures jumped from seven percent in 2013 to 29 percent in 2022. For those aged 18, it went from 9 percent to 41 percent.
Overall, four percent of 11 to 15-year-olds are currently vaping, while the figure is 14 percent for 16 and 17-year-olds.
Over half (56 percent) of 11 to 17-year-olds were aware of e-cigarette promotion, with awareness highest amongst those who had ever vaped (72 percent). TikTok was mentioned most often as the source of online promotion (cited by 45 percent of children), followed by Instagram (31 percent) and Snapchat (22 percent).
Underage vapers were most likely to get their vapes from shops (47 percent), while 10 percent buy them online and 43 percent are given them. Fruit flavours remain the most popular type (57 percent), according to the survey.
When it comes to regular tobacco smoking, fewer youngsters aged 11 to 17 have smoked - down from 16 percent in 2020 to 14 percent in 2022.
Deborah Arnott, chief executive of ASH, said: "The flood of glamourous promotion of vaping on social media, in particular TikTok, is completely inappropriate and they should turn off the tap."
Arnott said more funding was needed to enforce the law against underage sales, criticising the current situation and saying: "They are widely available for under a fiver - no wonder they're attractive to children."
A spokeswoman for TikTok said: "At TikTok, nothing is more important than keeping our community safe, especially our youngest users.
"Regardless of a user's age, we strictly prohibit content that depicts or promotes the sale, trade or offer of tobacco, including vaping products, and we will remove any content found to be violating our community guidelines. We also do not recommend content that shows or promotes tobacco products in TikTok users' feeds."
Gillian Golden, chief executive of the Independent British Vape Trade Association (IBVTA), said: "Social media platforms supposedly have policies to prevent promotion of vapes to children, but they do little to enforce them.
"We monitor and report infringements to social media platforms, but they rarely take any action, with TikTok being the worst offender. Businesses that illegally sell products to under-18s are also more likely to break the law by selling products that do not comply with UK regulations."
Earlier this year, the Chartered Trading Standards Institute carried out 442 test purchases in shops, resulting in 145 illegal sales to under-18s.
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