A worried parent has called for a crackdown on a vaping “epidemic” among children on Tyneside.
Council bosses have been urged to launch new action against shops selling vapes to kids, amid reports that hoards of youths are flocking from North Tyneside to Byker to buy them. It is illegal to sell vapes to under-18s, though nicotine-free products can currently be sold, while Rishi Sunak announced on Tuesday that the Government would close a loophole allowing retailers to give out free samples to children.
One dad, from Whitley Bay, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that he had been left feeling “powerless” to stop his 13-year-old daughter sneaking off to buy vapes and had noticed her travelling to areas that she did not visit before – including to shops in Byker where she could get served. He and his wife were recently at a burger bar on Shields Road and spotted groups of kids coming out of Byker Metro station and “puffing away” on vapes as they returned surrounded by plumes of vapour.
