The Government should consider bringing restrictions on packaging
and marketing of vapes in line with those that apply to tobacco
products to tackle a rise in use among children.
The Committee believes that the Government can maintain a public
health message on the potential value of vapes as a tool to help
smokers to quit while ensuring that its messaging and education,
enforcement and regulatory approach keeps them out of sight and
reach of children.
The Committee is calling for the Government to:
-
Consider bringing restrictions on packaging and
marketing of vapes in line with those that apply to tobacco
products
-
Review resources and enforcement
powers of trading standards to prevent vapes being sold to
children
-
Assess the impact on use among
children and smokers on lower incomes of a proposed excise tax
on disposable vapes, which would also help to protect against
imports of illegal products - which the Committee heard can
contain chemicals including hydraulic oil and
antifreeze
Chair of the Health and
Social Care Committee said:
“Decisive action is needed now from both Government and industry
to tackle an alarming trend in the number of children vaping and
to protect them from its harmful effects.
“It’s clear to us that the vaping industry has not gone far
enough to ensure that its products don’t appeal to children. When
you have brightly coloured and branded vapes with flavours that
name unicorns, sweets and popular fizzy drinks displayed in
locations ranging from newsagents to chicken shops, it’s
disingenuous for the industry to claim otherwise.
“We heard a wake-up call from a headteacher who told us that
hydraulic oil and antifreeze, along with other extremely
concerning chemicals, were found in a vape confiscated at her
school.
“Ministers need to focus, across Government, on the impact vaping
is having in our schools, whether that be setting off smoke
alarms in toilets or restricting access to them entirely for
young people. We’ve heard this issue is really impacting on the
delivery of education in schools and, post-pandemic in
particular, this is the last thing we can afford.”
ENDS
Further information
- Please see link for published
correspondence to Secretary of State .
- The Health and Social Care Committee called in
representatives of the vaping industry in June – see transcript. Evidence
session can be viewed here.
