Dr Neil Hudson (Penrith and The Border) (Con) I beg to move, That
this House has considered vaping among under-18s. It is a privilege
to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Sharma, and it is great to
welcome many colleagues from across the House to this important
debate. I completely recognise that vaping has a vital role to play
in supporting adults to give up tobacco smoking. However, vaping is
a public good only if it is helping people to end addictions that
they...Request free trial
(Penrith and The Border)
(Con)
I beg to move,
That this House has considered vaping among under-18s.
It is a privilege to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Sharma,
and it is great to welcome many colleagues from across the House
to this important debate. I completely recognise that vaping has
a vital role to play in supporting adults to give up tobacco
smoking. However, vaping is a public good only if it is helping
people to end addictions that they already have, not creating new
ones, especially in our vulnerable young folk.
It is not an exaggeration to say that we are seeing an epidemic
among our young people, which can be attributed to an
increasingly popular and powerful market for disposable vapes.
Action on Smoking and Health—ASH —said in its survey of 11 to
17-year-olds in Great Britain that 15.8% of 11 to 17-year-olds
had tried vaping in 2022, up from 11.2% in 2021. It also said
that in 2022, 7% of 11 to 17-year-olds were current users of
vapes, up from 3.3% in 2021.
(Rugby) (Con)
It is currently illegal for young people under 18 to purchase
vapes. Does my hon. Friend agree that we have a problem
implementing the existing regulations, rather than anything
else?
Dr Hudson
I completely agree, and I want to stress that key point: it is
illegal to sell vapes to under-18s. I will be asking the Minister
about that. I know that the Government are moving on it, and we
need to address it going forward.
Similarly, an NHS survey in 2021 said that 9% of 11 to
15-year-olds, and 18% of 15-year-olds, had used vapes. Those are
alarming statistics. ASH England also noted that the most
frequently used e-cigarettes among young people are disposable
vapes, with an astonishing increase from 7.7% in 2021 to 52% in
2022. Although this is not the main focus of my speech, I will
point out that, quite aside from the health concerns associated
with such a marked rise in the sale and consumption of disposable
vapes, they are a major environmental concern, with over 1
million of them thrown away every week. It is estimated that the
lithium used in those batteries equates to about 10 tonnes of
lithium per year, which is equivalent to the lithium used in
approximately 1,200 electric vehicle batteries.
(Sleaford and North
Hykeham) (Con)
My hon. Friend will be aware of my ten-minute rule Bill to ban
disposable vapes for exactly the reasons he has described: the
effects on children’s health particularly, and on the
environment. Does he agree that the Government should support the
Bill?
Dr Hudson
I very much agree with my hon. Friend. I thank her for
intervening and I welcome her medical expertise in this
debate.
I have touched on some of the environmental concerns, and there
are also concerns about fires related to disposable vapes.
However, at the heart of my speech is the impact that such a
frightening level of vape use is having on our young people, even
as young as primary age. I urge our policymakers not to
underestimate it. There are increasing reports suggesting that
the use of vapes has negative effects on heart and lung health,
and may be associated with tooth and gum disease. Other issues
reported include coughs, shortness of breath and headaches.
Nicotine, which these products often contain, is highly addictive
with potentially harmful effects on the adolescent brain, which
is still developing.
(Dartford) (Con)
Enforcement is absolutely vital in this industry, but does my
hon. Friend agree that there is a danger of demonising vaping for
adult smokers? Vaping is 95% risk free, according to ASH, which
he has mentioned, the British Heart Foundation, the British Lung
Foundation, Public Health England and so on. It is therefore a
vital part of a smoker’s ability to come off tobacco use. It
quite literally saves lives, and therefore should be promoted to
smokers.
Dr Hudson
I totally agree. As I said, the use of vaping to help adults get
away from tobacco smoking has significant health benefits, but
today we are talking about stamping out its use by people who are
not trying to give up smoking. We are trying to protect our young
people, but I totally concur with my hon. Friend.
(Eastbourne) (Con)
My hon. Friend is being very generous in taking interventions. I
concur with his last point, but does he agree that one of the
issues that we face is advertising? Vapes are stacked up like
sweeties in all sorts of outlets, which presents them as rather
benign and makes them attractive to younger users.
Dr Hudson
I totally concur. My hon. Friend has read my mind: I am about to
talk about the advertising, the colourful labelling, the fruit
flavours and so on, which draw in young people.
I have asked a number of parliamentary questions about vaping,
and the recurrent theme in the Government’s answers is that they
acknowledge that vapes are not risk free, and that nicotine is
highly addictive and can be harmful. Some studies suggest that
vaping among young people can be a gateway to risky behaviour
such as drinking and tobacco smoking, which would be a perverse
thing to happen. Vaping is supposed to get adults off smoking,
but if it is leading young people into smoking, that is not a
good thing.
(Newport West) (Lab)
The hon. Gentleman is making a powerful speech about the
detriment to health of vaping for under-18s. He mentioned a
study, but does he agree that there is not sufficient research on
under-18s, so we do not know exactly how safe or unsafe these
products are?
Dr Hudson
I agree. That is exactly right: there is a paucity of data. I
will ask the Government and the Department of Health and Social
Care to create the datasets so that we can make evidence-based
decisions.
Concerningly, ASH Scotland suggests that children with mental
health issues including mood disorders and eating disorders, who
are among the most vulnerable people in society, are potentially
more likely to use vapes. That is a real concern. I am passionate
about mental health, especially among our young people, and I
urge the Government to continue to protect the most vulnerable.
That has been the hallmark of this compassionate Conservative
Government.
Anecdotally, we hear much about the impact of these products. We
hear reports of children’s sleep patterns being disrupted. They
set their alarms for 2 o’clock or 3 o’clock in the morning so
that they can vape in the middle of the night to avoid withdrawal
symptoms the next day. At school, there have been reports of
students leaving lessons and even walking out of examinations
because they simply cannot last without the use of a vape. If
vaping is having a detrimental impact on our young children’s
life chances, this is a matter not merely of health but of social
and educational development. One teacher in my constituency noted
that the issue is so widespread that vapes are being illicitly
traded in the school playground.
I want to touch on the marketing of vapes to under-18s, as
colleagues have done. A particular issue with the vaping market
is the flagrant targeting of under-18s as potential consumers
through trendy advertising on social media. Products are promoted
with bright colours and inviting fruit flavours—sweet flavours
such as mango, bubblegum and cherry ice.
(Northampton South) (Con)
The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities annual review
of vaping reveals that 39% of ex-smokers use fruit-flavoured
vapes, against 17% who use tobacco. There absolutely are issues
with marketing, advertising and presentation to young people, but
does my hon. Friend agree that an overly simplistic blanket ban
of flavours might have the serious unintended consequence of
preventing some potential vapers from vaping, meaning that they
would carry on smoking and thus massively increasing their
chances of an early death?
Dr Hudson
Again, this is about the differentiation between adult use of
vaping products and young people’s use of vaping products.
(York Central)
(Lab/Co-op)
I am grateful to the hon. Member for making such an excellent
speech. Does he agree that recruiting a new generation of addicts
is the business model that the industry has forever driven, no
matter whether the product kills or harms? The industry itself
needs to be tackled on the issue.
Dr Hudson
I agree with the hon. Member. The industry needs to take a close
look at itself, but it is also the case that a lot of the vapes
that are ending up with children are coming through illicit
means. We need to have a targeted approach to look at how best we
can prevent our young people from accessing those products.
My hon. Friend made a very good point about advertising. We need
to get across the nuanced message that vaping may be beneficial
to people who want to quit smoking—although I would argue that it
could become an alternative addiction rather than a stop-smoking
aid—but we must also prevent children from using vapes. In the
past, nuanced advertising for formula milk stated that breast
milk was better at the beginning but that formula milk was a
reasonable alternative for six month olds. Could a form of words
be used in vaping adverts to make it clear that the products
should be for people who smoke, not for those who do not?
Dr Hudson
I agree with my hon. Friend that if we can get more nuance into
the advertising and labelling of vapes, that would help
articulate to people the benefits of using them for the
legitimate purpose of getting off tobacco smoking. It could also
serve as a stern warning that young people should not take the
products, because of their significant health risks. As ASH
notes, 57% of e-cigarette use among 11 to 17-year-olds involves
fruit flavours. Clearly and deliberately, the marketing of
fruit-flavoured and trendy products is driving demand among our
young people. We need to be very careful.
Aside from the nicotine, there are questions over whether the
flavourings and chemicals inhaled also impact on the health risks
to people who vape. For instance, in 2019 The American Journal of
Physiology: Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiologyreported that
the flavouring chemical cinnamaldehyde was associated with
decreased mucociliary clearance in the respiratory tract due to
dysregulation of mitochondrial function. That presents a
compelling case to treat this issue as an urgent priority and, as
the hon. Member for Newport West () has said, to gather much-needed
data in the area. We can then demonstrate the reality of what
dangers our young people are potentially being exposed to in the
long term.
As one teacher in my constituency has noted, the prevailing view
seems to be that the use of such products is completely harmless.
As the evidence I have mentioned suggests, however, that is very
much not the case, as has also been acknowledged by health
experts and, indeed, the Government.
Worse still, the potential impacts assume that the products are
being sold in accordance with Government regulations. However, we
have seen an increase in illicit and non-compliant trade of
e-cigarettes. Checks on imports of these products find that
regulations are regularly flouted, including higher numbers of
puffs per vape and higher nicotine levels than those permitted.
That also demonstrates that any Government action needs to
remember online trading as well, not just physical sales in
shops.
The Government are tackling the problem. I welcome the recent
announcements by the Under-Secretary of State for Health and
Social Care, my hon. Friend the Member for Harborough (Neil
O’Brien), but I believe that the emerging reality of the
dangerous effects that vaping may be having on our young people
presents a compelling case for Government to act and move forward
on the issue. His intervention on the subject last month was a
welcome and major step, and a clear signal that this Government
recognise the severity of the issue.
To successfully tackle a failure in any market, a holistic
approach focused on both supply and demand needs to be examined.
I am, therefore, heartened that that is exactly the line of
travel that the Government are taking in their call for evidence
on vaping plans. They are focusing not just on illegal sales,
which is vital, but on what is driving up demand among our young
people, such as the influence of advertising and social media. I
strongly encourage those who are watching this debate, and people
at large, to take part in that call for evidence, so that we can
collate more data. I am thinking in particular of those who are
seeing the impact at first hand, such as those involved in
schools.
As I have raised with the Ministry of Justice, it is imperative
that unscrupulous sellers of vapes to under-18s should feel the
full force of the law if they break it. I therefore welcome the
Government’s announcement of £3 million for an illicit vapes
enforcement taskforce to tackle those who are illegally selling
vapes to our young people, but also to look out for products that
should not be on our shelves. It is an important reminder that
laws are effective only if there is the determination and
resources to enforce them.
To summarise, although vaping has an important part to play in
supporting adults to quit tobacco smoking for good, it must not
come at the cost of creating new addictions and health issues in
our young people. I am very pleased that the Government recognise
the severity of this issue and are acting with compassion by
acting for those most vulnerable to serious harm. It must be a
priority for our health policy, and in fulfilling our commitment
to young people we must tackle this real threat to them and to
gather information on the potential long-term effects of these
products.
I know that my hon. Friend is nearing the end of his remarks.
Everybody in the Chamber acknowledges that the problem he has
identified is that these products are getting into the hands of
young people. He has already praised the work that the Government
are doing, but what more should they be doing to prevent these
products from getting into the hands of the wrong people?
Dr Hudson
I look forward to hearing from the Minister what he and the
Government are going to do. Calling for evidence and having a
taskforce is a good starting point, but I think that is just a
staging post. We need to do more by tackling the advertising and
making sure that the labelling is sufficient. The health warnings
on cigarette packets are quite alarming now, and tobacco products
are kept behind closed cabinets in outlets. We need to be moving
in that direction, so that vapes are not like sweeties on shelves
for our young kids. That is the real issue: they are appealing,
colourful and fruit-flavoured products, and people think, “Do you
know what? I’d like to have a try of this.” That is where people
are slipping into this problem.
I fear that our young people face a public health ticking
timebomb, and we as a Parliament and as a society must address it
as a priority. I welcome colleagues’ interventions today, and I
look forward to hearing more from the Minister about what steps
the Government are going to take to tackle this very important
issue.
5.18pm
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social
Care (Neil O'Brien)
I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Penrith and The Border (Dr
Hudson) for securing this very important and timely debate on
youth vaping, and for his excellent speech. Lots of Members have
made important contributions to policy in this area, and I pay
tribute to them for that, as well as for their contributions
today.
Until recently, our regulations—including on the minimum age of
sale, advertising restrictions and the cap on nicotine
levels—have been reasonably effective at keeping the rate of
vaping among under-18s low. However, over the last 18 months we
have seen a surge in the use and promotion of cheap, colourful
products that do not always comply with our regulations, and
there has been a sharp increase in the number of children vaping.
NHS figures show that 9% of 11 to 15-year-old children used
e-cigarettes in 2021—up from 6% in 2018. That is a big concern,
because there is every reason to think that the rate has
continued to go up.
We know that vapes are not risk-free. Nicotine is highly
addictive and can be harmful, and there are unanswered questions
about the effects of long-term use, as the hon. Member for
Newport West () pointed out. Our message is
very clear: vapes should not be used by people under the age of
18, or by non-smokers. That is why I announced on 11 April that
we are stepping up our efforts to stop kids getting hooked on
vaping. First, we launched a call for evidence on youth vaping to
identify opportunities to reduce the number of children accessing
and using vape products, and to explore where the Government can
go further. That call for evidence explores a range of issues,
including how we ensure regulatory compliance, the appearance and
characteristics of vapes, the marketing and promotion of them,
and the role of social media. My hon. Friend the Member for
Eastbourne () rightly talked about them
being stacked up like sweeties, and that concerns me, too. On the
other hand, my hon. Friend the Member for Northampton South
() warned that this is not a
straightforward matter to regulate, and pointed out the need to
avoid counterproductive changes that stop people swapping from
smoking to vaping.
Our call for evidence will also seek to ensure that we understand
the vaping market better. It will look at such issues as the
price of low-cost products. The call for evidence also considers
the environmental impact of vapes, particularly the disposable
ones that have become so appealing to young people.
The Minister is talking about the environmental impact. How
closely is he working with Department for Environment, Food and
Rural Affairs colleagues to ensure recycling, and to ensure a
circular economy in the precious metals mentioned, which must be
brought back into the economy?
Neil O'Brien
Closely. I am also listening to my hon. Friend the Member for
Sleaford and North Hykeham (Dr Johnson), who has led discussion
on the subject through her ten-minute rule Bill. She is right to
be concerned about the environmental impact of disposable
products. The proportion of young people using those disposable
products has gone up from 8% in 2021 to 52% by 2022. Clearly,
they are an important part of youth vaping.
We have heard a few calls for vaping products to be placed with
tobacco products. Does the Minister agree that there is a danger
in connecting vaping with tobacco to such a degree? It is not
surprising that a disproportionately high number of people in
this country believe that vaping is just as bad as smoking.
People are put off going from smoking to vaping as a consequence.
Should we not separate vaping from smoking wherever possible?
Neil O'Brien
My hon. Friend is right, and I will come to that in a moment. The
call for evidence that I talked about will be open for the next
eight weeks, and we hope that everyone concerned will take the
opportunity to share their views and put evidence in, to shape
our future approach.
In the review, will there be any consideration of the role of
Trading Standards?
Neil O'Brien
Absolutely, and I hope people will put in evidence on that. I
will touch in a moment on something else we are doing. In the
speech I mentioned, I announced the new specialised illicit
vaping flying squad, a team to tackle under-age vape sales and
illicit products that young people are accessing. It will hold
companies to account and enforce rules.
My hon. Friend the Member for Rugby (), the chair of the all-party
parliamentary group for vaping (e-cigarettes), said that we must
enforce the rules, and he is absolutely right. That is why we are
providing £3 million in new funding to Trading Standards, which
will help share knowledge and intelligence around the country.
The squad will undertake test purchasing, so that we find out who
is selling to young people. It will disrupt illicit supply, and
will also do work on organised crime gangs. It will remove
illegal products, not just from our shelves but at our borders.
It will undertake more testing to ensure compliance with our
rules, bolstering the capacity of Trading Standards. Companies
that fail to comply with the law will be held accountable.
It is important that we teach young people about the risks of
vaping. That is why we have published new content on the
potential risks of vaping for young people on the FRANK and
Better Health websites. We have also provided extra input into
educational resources produced by partners, including the PSHE
Association.
The Government has an objective to be smoke-free by 2030—that is,
to get down to 5% of people smoking. Is the Minister concerned
that if we continue to talk about the dangers and harms that may
be associated with vaping, we are in grave danger of providing a
disincentive for smokers to switch to a much safer
alternative?
Neil O'Brien
My hon. Friend has pre-empted my next paragraph almost perfectly.
I was about to say that although we want to ensure that children
do not take up vaping, vaping can play an important part in
achieving our ambition of a smoke-free England by 2030. Vaping is
a double-edged sword. On the one hand, we do not want children to
develop an addiction to any substance at a young age, but on the
other, it is substantially less harmful than smoking, as my hon.
Friend the Member for Dartford () said. It is 95% safer than
smoking.
Will the Minister also put in place services, similar to smoking
programmes, to support people who are now addicted to vaping, to
enable them to come off vaping?
Neil O'Brien
Absolutely, and I will touch on that in just one moment.
Vapes—
Will the Minister give way?
Neil O’Brien
I think I should try to answer the last intervention before
taking another one; I will come back to my hon. Friend in a
second. Vapes are not yet being used widely enough to reach their
full potential as a quit smoking aid, so on 11 April, I announced
new funding for a new national “swap to stop” programme—the first
of its kind anywhere in the world. We will work with councils and
others to offer 1 million smokers across England a free vaping
starter kit. Smokers who join the scheme, which will run
initially over the next two years, will join on one condition:
they must commit to quitting smoking, with support. We will
provide additional support to help them quit vaping after they
have quit smoking. We will target the most at-risk communities
first, focusing on settings such as jobcentres, homelessness
centres and social housing providers. I do not know whether my
hon. Friend still has a burning question.
Dr Johnson
Yes, and I thank the Minister for giving way; he has been
extremely generous with his time. He has talked about the
importance of educating children about the risks. Does he agree
that a key problem is that many young people and children who use
vapes do not believe that they are harmful at all?
Neil O’Brien
My hon. Friend is quite probably right. There is a lack of
understanding of some of the risks, and of the effects on mental
health and wellbeing. I am very, very worried when I hear about
young people at school smoking, and about the disruption that
various hon. Members have raised in this debate.
I conclude by thanking all Members here for highlighting concerns
about these issues, and for their contributions, not only in the
debate but over a longer period. That has had an effect on
Government policy, and will continue to. The Government are
committed to doing all we can to prevent children and young
people from vaping, while also ensuring that we use the full
potential of vaping as a tool to help smokers quit.
Question put and agreed to.
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