2 August 2024

UK

Schoolchildren to be taught dangers of vaping

Campaigners call to bring back vaping law

International

Australia: Almost 500,000 illicit cigarettes, 380kg of 'chop chop' tobacco seized in Queensland raids

Links of the week

ASH data on youth vaping rates published

Podcast: Let’s talk e-cigarettes

UK

Schoolchildren to be taught dangers of vaping

Twelve and thirteen year olds in Plymouth are to be taught about the dangers of vaping as part of a campaign to stop children using them.

The city council said it was concerned about a rise in vaping and possible health risks, especially as other substances could be added to vapes.

Nationally, nearly 8% of 11-17 year olds vape, according to figures from an online survey of 2,000 children by health charity ASH (Action on Smoking and Health). That is up from 4% in 2020.

The legal age for buying vapes is 18.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the council has set up a vaping working group and allocated additional funding for two full-time members of staff to work with the Youth Service and Young People’s Treatment Service.

Plymouth City Council Trading Standards’ team provides advice and uses teenagers to try to buy age-restricted products in shops to test whether they are complying with the law.
The team also tests the quality and safety of e-cigarettes and e-liquids.

Source: BBC News, 1 August 2024


See also: ASH - Use of vapes (e-cigarettes) among young people in Great Britain

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Campaigners call to bring back vaping law

Campaigners have called on the Government to bring back legislation to curb vaping among young people.

The call follows new research showing the proportion of children who use vapes has stabilised but is not yet clearly declining.

A YouGov survey commissioned by public health charity Action on Smoking and Health found that around 18% of 11- to 17-year-olds had vaped in 2024.

Around half had only done so once or twice, while of those who vaped at least once, 4.2% reported doing so more than once a week.

ASH chief executive Hazel Cheeseman said the figures 'must stiffen the Government’s resolve to bring back the Tobacco and Vapes Bill immediately it returns from its summer break.

'Cheap, accessible vapes promoted on every street corner and packaged and labelled like sweets or toys are totally inappropriate, but until the Bill is on the statute book they cannot be taken off the market.'

Source: LocalGov, 1 August 2024

See also: ASH – New data reveals continued concerns regarding youth vaping: ASH calls for urgent government action

Read Here

International

Australia: Almost 500,000 illicit cigarettes, 380kg of 'chop chop' tobacco seized in Queensland raids

Tobacconists across Queensland's Wide Bay were targeted in a joint operation by Queensland Health and the Therapeutic Goods Administration this week, which led to enforcement officers sweeping stores clean of their stock.

They seized $650,000 worth of illegal tobacco, including 476,000 illicit cigarettes, more than 380kg of loose tobacco and 350 individual vapes from stores in Bundaberg and Hervey Bay.

Illicit tobacco sellers avoid the excise due on regulated tobacco and it is estimated retailers in Bundaberg and Hervey Bay avoided paying about $1.2 million in taxes.

Businesses caught in possession or selling illicit tobacco or nicotine products could face fines of up to $322,600 and individuals could face two years' imprisonment as part of the Tobacco and Other Smoking Products (Vaping) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill that was introduced to the Queensland parliament last month.

A nationwide ban came into effect on July 1, making it illegal for retailers, including tobacconists, to sell vapes of any kind, irrespective of their nicotine content.

In Queensland, vapes can be obtained from a pharmacy, but patients are required to have a prescription from a medical practitioner.

From October 1 pharmacists can supply therapeutic vapes with a nicotine concentration of 20mg/mL or less, if they believe it is clinically appropriate, to patients aged 18 years or over without a prescription.

Source: ABC News, 2 August 2024

Read Here

Links of the week

ASH data on youth vaping rates published
 

ASH has published new findings from a comprehensive survey examining the vaping behaviour of 11-17 year olds in Britain. The 2024 data reveals that while the rate of youth vaping has stabilised, it remains high, with close to a million children having tried vaping. In response to the data, ASH has called on the Government to publish the Tobacco and Vapes Bill as soon as possible to ensure that Government has the powers it needs to regulate the appeal, the advertising and promotion of vapes to young people.

 
  • View the press release here.

  • View the factsheet here.

Read Here

Podcast: Let’s talk e-cigarettes
 

Associate Professor Jamie Hartmann-Boyce and Associate Professor Nicola Lindson discuss the new evidence in e-cigarette research and interview Professor Jamie Brown. Jamie Brown is Professor of Behavioural Science and Director of the Tobacco and Alcohol Research Group at University College London. He co-leads a research programme that aims to provide insights into population-wide influences on smoking, smoking cessation and alcohol reduction via management and analysis of the major population surveys, the Smoking and Alcohol Toolkit Study.

Listen Here
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