Doctors in the UK have urged ministers to take ‘bold and brave action’ to protect young people amid a ‘vaping epidemic’ in the country.
The British Medical Association’s (BMA) new report – ‘taking our breath away: why we need stronger regulation of vapes’ – outlines a blueprint of legislations aimed at tackling youth vaping, including a total ban on disposable e-cigarettes and all flavours apart from tobacco.
Dr Penelope Toff, chair of the BMA’s public health medicine committee, warned that e-cigarette use among youngsters is a ‘serious public health threat’.
‘The last government made significant progress putting forward a bill that included a ban on disposable vapes and plans to regulate flavours and marketing. This new Government must now ensure these measures are carried through into legislation – and it would do well to go even further.’
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The BMA’s report comes after analysis by public health charity Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) found that 18% of 11 to 17-year-olds in Britain – or around 980,000 youngsters – have vaped in 2024.
To ‘prevent further addiction and harm,’ the BMA wants tighter regulations to tackle the illegal sale of vapes, including Government-funded education campaigns, as well as measures to stop the sale of other products, such as nicotine pouches, to young people.
Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer revived the Tobacco and Vapes Bill proposed by Rishi Sunak following Labour’s victory at the July 4 vote, but details on the measures included in the proposed legislation are yet to be published.
Responding to the BMA’s report, a Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: ‘Vapes can be an effective way for adult smokers to quit, but we have always been clear that children and adult non-smokers should never vape.
‘The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will stop vapes from deliberately being branded and advertised to appeal to children, including by regulating flavours, packaging, and changing how and where they are displayed in shops.’