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Trading standards in England and Wales say the market is being flooded by unsafe, disposable vapes aimed at children. Children are at risk from vaping, and more should be done to protect them from illegal and unregulated products containing high levels of nicotine, doctors are warning.
Selling e-cigarettes or vapes to children is illegal in the UK, and every vaping product sold containing nicotine must be registered by the medicines and healthcare products regulator, the MHRA.
But the BBC has been told of a rise in complaints to Trading Standards over illicit vapes and shops selling them to children - increasing from dozens each month last year to hundreds per month in 2022, with thousands of counterfeit and unregulated products being seized.
UK laws limit how much nicotine and e-liquid is allowed, and health warnings are required on packaging. However, large numbers of vapes which are not designed for the UK market, are being smuggled into the country.
A recent survey by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) suggests nearly a third of 16 and 17-year-olds have tried vaping, and 14% are currently vapers. Among 11-17-year-olds, 7% are vaping - up from 4% in 2020.
The Department of Health and Social Care in England says that while they're not risk-free, UK-regulated vapes are far less harmful than smoked tobacco. But it continues to strongly discourage non-smokers and children from using them. A spokesperson emphasised that “vapes should only be used as a tool for smokers giving up smoking”.
The charity ASH says more should be done to prevent the products being promoted widely on platforms like TikTok. "The flood of glamorous promotion of vaping on social media is completely inappropriate and social media platforms should take responsibility and turn off the tap," said chief executive Deborah Arnott.
A government report on vaping among young people and adults in England is due to be published in the coming months.
Source: BBC, 13 July 2022
See also: ASH factsheet - Use of e-cigarettes (vapes) among young people in Great Britain, 2022
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Writing in the BMJ, GP and honorary senior clinical lecturer at Oxford University, Helen Salisbury, discusses the challenges of treating physical and mental health problems which are “not just due to unlucky biology but is an almost inevitable result of the difficult lives my patients lead.” She likens the treatment options at times to “an endless series of sticking plasters”.
Salisbury states that many of the underlying causes of ill health, such as obesity, are difficult for GPs to treat and concentrated in the “most economically deprived areas.”
She also highlights “grounds for optimism, such as significant reductions in lung and heart disease that have followed the dramatic decline in smoking in recent decades. These changed habits are largely attributable to legislation that’s made smoking more expensive, more inconvenient, and less socially acceptable. There’s more to do, but the tools are available, as set out in the recent Khan review, Making Smoking Obsolete.”
Turning to obesity, Salisbury suggests similar strategies could be employed, but questions the role of the food industry in influencing obesity policy. She states that “increasing tax on unhealthy food high in fat, salt, and sugar, while using the revenue to subsidise healthier options, is…an obvious place to start.”
Salisbury concludes that: “Commercial determinants of health, in the guise of food, alcohol, and tobacco interests, play a part in holding back the public health reforms we desperately need. I’m not sure who will be health secretary by the time this column is published, but it would be great if they stopped listening to industry and started listening to public health experts and GPs.”
Source: BMJ, 12 July 2022
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Brazil’s national health surveillance agency, Anvisa, decided on July 6 to maintain its ban on the import, advertising, and sale of electronic cigarettes in Brazil, in force since 2009.
The decision was taken unanimously during a meeting of the body’s collegiate board. Board members agreed on calls for increased inspections and educational campaigns to curb the illicit trade in e-cigarettes.
Source: Brazilian Report, 6 July 2022
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ASH Daily News is a digest of published news on smoking-related topics. ASH is not responsible for the content of external websites. ASH does not necessarily endorse the material contained in this bulletin.
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