Batteries power e-cigarettes, sometimes called vapes, which enable nicotine to be inhaled through a vapour (or “vaping”) as opposed to smoke.
Vaping among children and young people has increased, despite the fact that e-cigarettes are frequently used as a tool to aid in quitting smoking. Disposable “pod” vapes, the most recent incarnation of e-cigarettes, are proving to be especially popular. Action on Smoking and Health’s (ASH) CEO Deborah Arnott said:
The disposable vapes, which have been increasingly popular over the past year, are little, brightly coloured items with enticing flavours. They are inexpensive and widely accessible, so it is understandable why kids find them appealing.
Concerns have been expressed about children and young people using e-cigarettes because research on the potential health hazards is still in its infancy. Disposable vapes, which are thought to be thrown away in their 1.3 million-strong number each week, have also drawn attention to the environmental impact they cause.
This article will examine the availability, attraction, and prevalence of e-cigarettes among children and young people as well as any potential negative effects.
How widespread is vaping among kids and teenagers?
In Wales, among 11 to 16-year-old students, 22% had tried an e-cigarette, while 3% vaped at least once per week according to the 2019–20 Student Wellbeing Survey. The Mix, a youth assistance organisation, discovered that 45% of Welsh 16 to 25-year-olds had used an e-cigarette in the previous year.
Between 2021 and 2022, disposable vape use among vapers between the ages of 11 and 17 increased more than six times, according to ASH. According to a different survey, the percentage of 18-year-old “vapers” who use disposable vapes rose from less than 1% in 2021 to 55% in 2022. The use of disposable vapes rose from 2% to 10% among adult vapers.
How do young people and children obtain e-cigarettes?
In Wales, it is forbidden to sell e-cigarettes to anybody under the age of 18 as of October 1, 2015. But according to ASH, shops are where most 11 to 17-year-olds get their e-cigarettes. 15% of attempts to purchase e-cigarettes were successful, according to Trading Standards Wales. During a BBC Wales investigation, e-cigarettes were sold to minors in 7 out of 20 Cardiff stores. Additionally, ASH discovered that 1 in 10 kids bought their e-cigarettes online. Free samples of e-cigarettes can be distributed to persons of any age due to a legal loophole.
Are youngsters and children being targeted?
E-cigarette advertisements are subject to limits imposed by the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 and the UK Advertising Codes. The rules are clear that e-cigarette marketing cannot target consumers under the age of 18. Unlike tobacco, advertising for e-cigarettes is permitted on billboards, posters, and at points of sale but is prohibited on television, radio, newspapers, and magazines.
According to research by Cancer Research UK, more than a third of young people found e-cigarette marketing to be enticing. Young people who had never smoked or vaped also noticed e-cigarette marketing more than adults who had.
Cancer Research UK also expressed worries that less well-regulated social media platforms like these could expose kids and teenagers to e-cigarette advertising. TikTok was identified as “the worst offender” by the Independent British Vape Trade Association for upholding rules that prohibit e-cigarette advertising to children. TikTok, followed by Instagram and Snapchat, was the site where kids were most likely to see online advertisements for e-cigarettes, according to ASH.
How damaging is vaping?
E-cigarettes function by heating a liquid containing nicotine rather than burning tobacco. Tar and carbon monoxide, the two most dangerous components of tobacco smoke, are therefore not produced.
The most recent research indicates that e-cigarettes constitute only a small portion of the long- and short-term health dangers of tobacco cigarettes. Vaping can harm the heart and lungs, and it is not risk-free, particularly for people who have never smoked. The long-term health repercussions of e-cigarette use cannot yet be determined.
Although the risk is regarded to be smaller than with smoking, nicotine dependence is another potential issue with e-cigarettes. The risk of developing a nicotine dependence varies depending on the type of e-cigarette used, with the risk being higher for disposable “pod” vapes since they allow for the inhalation of particularly high quantities of nicotine. Children and teenagers are more prone than adults to get addicted to nicotine, and nicotine use can affect how their brains grow.
Vaping as a gateway to smoking
It’s not known if e-cigarette usage among kids and teenagers serves as a gateway to tobacco use. Compared to 2% of those who had never tried vaping, 15% of 10 to 11-year-olds in Wales who had tried an e-cigarette stated they would or would start smoking. However, 83% of Welsh 11 to 16-year-olds who had tried both cigarettes and e-cigarettes had started with the latter. According to a study conducted in England, using electronic cigarettes is not typically linked to starting to smoke.
How has the Welsh Government reacted to this?
The Public Health (Wales) Bill, which sought to outlaw e-cigarette use in enclosed and public spaces, was unsuccessfully introduced by the Welsh Government in 2015. (the legislation passed without inclusion of the ban in 2017). According to First Minister Mark Drakeford, one of his “greatest political regrets” is that this failure occurred, and he recently stated that:
We are going back to try to recover from what we lost because there is alarming evidence that e-cigarettes are luring young people into nicotine addiction.
By 2030, the Welsh Government hopes to have a smoke-free Wales (with fewer than 5% of adults smoking). The Smoke Free plan, released in July 2022, has the following objectives:
Reduce the use of smoking while simultaneously discouraging the use of e-cigarettes or other nicotine products by teenagers and young people to raise the percentage of those who continue to be smoke-free.
The Welsh Government stated that additional research was required to fully understand the impact of e-cigarettes on young people’s decision to start smoking in the Tobacco Control Delivery Plan 2022–2024.
Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Well-Being Lynne Neagle stated:
It is quite alarming to hear that children are using e-cigarettes more frequently. Additionally, we’ll consider what else could be done to stop kids and teenagers from using them.
ASH thinks that further funds is required to police the legislation against underage sales and that child-friendly packaging and social media promotion need to be addressed.
Welsh Parliament’s Senedd Research published an article by Bonnie Evans.
Bonnie Evans received a parliamentary fellowship from the Medical Research Council, which allowed Senedd Research to finish this research article.
Ref: https://research.senedd.wales/research-articles/vaping-in-children-and-teens-smoke-without-fire/
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