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Radio 5 Live interview on youth vaping with Director of FRESH Ailsa Rutter
Speaking on Radio 5 Live Breakfast, Ailsa Rutter, Director of Fresh discussed with Rachel Burden the recent comments made by the Children’s Commissioner for England Rachel de Souza regarding youth vaping.
De Souza had stated her concern around youth vaping, pointing to the addictive qualities, nicotine levels and predatory marketing and packaging targeting children, which lead her to call for a blanket ban on all disposable vapes.
In response, Ailsa Rutter agreed that she had real concerns about children trying vaping and the sales, marketing and display of vapes is often highly inappropriate and targeted towards a younger demographic.
However, Rutter does not agree with a blanket ban on disposable vapes. She argued that Fresh have been working with ASH to closely monitor youth vaping and found that although experimentation with vaping has risen, the vast majority of young people aren’t vaping regularly. She cites evidence from surveys done in the North East regarding youth vaping, and from first-hand accounts in schools.
Rutter goes on to say that vaping is not smoking and the “smoking of tobacco is still the biggest killer in this country (UK)”, and 2 in 3 smokers will die from smoking related illnesses. She mentioned how Fresh and ASH are both backing a number of measures including taxing disposable vapes at £5 and encouraging the government to reinstate funding for stop smoking campaigns.
Rutter put forward that the discussion around youth vaping can detract from the benefits of using vaping as an aid to quitting smoking, as they have been a proven effective smoking cessation device and have benefited the health of smokers who have moved from smoking tobacco to vaping, as well as being a cheaper alternative.
Rutter concludes that she agrees with De Souza that the packaging of disposable vapes is far too kid-friendly but that the key to solving the issue is striking a balance as between protecting children from illegal vapes and encouraging smokers to switch over to a healthier smoking alternative.
Source: BBC Radio 5 Live, at 2 hours 23 minutes, 9 June 2023
See also: ASH response to youth vaping call for evidence | ASH findings on Use of e-cigarettes among young people in Great Britain
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Ministers urged to restrict marketing of vapes to children in England
The children’s commissioner for England has urged ministers to crack down on the “insidious” marketing of vapes to young people, which is leaving them so addicted to nicotine they can’t concentrate on lessons.
Her comments are underpinned by research into the experiences of 3,500 young people across the UK, which found “deeply worrying” evidence that children feel pressured to vape, with addictions preventing some from concentrating for whole lessons, while others are avoiding school toilets for fear of peer pressure to vape.
The findings have spurred De Souza to call for the government to ban disposable vapes, which are popular among children, and for regulation to mirror that of tobacco, including plain packaging and age-of-sale signage. She also called for a ban on nicotine-free vapes, which are seen as a gateway to vapes with nicotine.
Ministers are considering “further steps” on vaping to deter their sale to children after the call for evidence, which are understood to include banning colourful branding or flavours.
On Tuesday, the Royal College of Paediatricians and Child Health called for a ban on disposable vapes, which would bring the UK more closely in line with comparable countries. Australia has made vaping prescription-only, while New Zealand banned most disposable vapes this week and will no longer allow new vape shops near schools. Scotland, France, Germany and Ireland all also have tougher rules.
Source: The Guardian, 9 June 2023
See also: ASH response to youth vaping call for evidence | Children’s Commissioners report on youth vaping
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Calls for health warning labels to be put on individual cigarettes
Ministers looking to refresh Scotland’s policies on tobacco are being urged by campaigners to add warnings to individual cigarettes.
The country has set a bold aim to create a tobacco-free generation by 2034.
Sheila Duffy, chief executive of charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) Scotland, said the action plan, which will be updated later this year, could ‘re-establish’ the country as a ‘world-leading public health nation’.
Campaigners from ASH Scotland are now urging the Scottish Government to follow countries including Canada and New Zealand in reforming its anti-smoking plans.
Canada is set to become the first country in the world to make it compulsory for health warnings to be added to individual cigarettes.
Labels such as ‘poison in every puff’ will be added to individual cigarettes very soon, with a phased approach to the new law beginning in August this year.
By April 2025, it’s anticipated that retailers in Canada will only sell tobacco products with these new labels on them.
Scotland was a world leader when it introduced the smoking ban in almost all enclosed spaces in 2006. England, Wales and Northern Ireland introduced the ban the following year in 2007.
ASH Scotland is also recommending limiting the visibility of tobacco products in retail spaces and giving accessible support to people with high tobacco usage.
Source: Metro, 9 June 2023
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