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Vaping reaches record levels in Great Britain, ASH report reveals
Vaping has risen rapidly over the past decade to reach record levels in Great Britain with an estimated 4.3 million people who are regular vapers, according to data published by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH).
The data suggests 8.3% of adults in England, Wales and Scotland vape, up from 1.7% a decade ago, which equated to about 800,000 people.
Hazel Cheeseman, Deputy Chief Executive at ASH, said the increase in smokers switching to vaping was “great news”.
“They can be lifesaving tools for those struggling to quit. At the same time, we can’t rely on vaping to fully solve the problem of smoking. We must address the recent increase in youth vaping and put in place wider efforts to address smoking as vaping won’t work for everyone. The time for government action is now,” she said.
Of the 4.3 million vapers, about 2.4 million are ex-smokers, 1.5 million current smokers and 350,000 have never smoked a cigarette. Cheeseman said vaping among the last group tended to be “rare” and “experimental”.
The report shows an increase in e-cigarette use among young adults, with 18 to 24 year-olds the biggest consumers in 2022, at 11%. This has grown since 2021, when they had the lowest vaping rate at 5%. People 55 and over now have the lowest rate, at 5.9%.
Cheeseman said she was concerned by this, especially after earlier research showed vaping among children aged 11 to 17 was up from 4% in 2020 to 7% in 2022, although it is illegal to sell vapes to under-18s. However, research also shows smoking is going down as vaping increases.
The report, which is based on ASH’s annual Smokefree GB survey of more than 13,000 adults from across Great Britain, conducted by YouGov, found 28% of current smokers had never tried an e-cigarette, with 21% saying they did not want to substitute one addiction for another. 23% thought vaping was not similar enough to smoking and 10 % said they were “concerned e-cigarettes are not safe enough”.
A third of adults said they believed vaping was more, or equally harmful, as smoking, which the report states is incorrect.
Source: The Guardian, 29 August 2022
See also: ASH - Use of e-cigarettes (vapes) among adults in Great Britain 2022
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Is it too easy for under-18s to get vapes through TikTok?
TikTok is being urged by ASH to take a "responsible approach" towards content relating to vapes and e-cigarettes on the platform.
It comes as ITV News found pages on the platform dedicated to demonstrating how vapes are made, and accounts that link to websites to buy the cigarette alternatives in bulk.
It is illegal for under-18s to buy vapes. Proof of age is required when purchasing a vape in a shop, however, the age verification process on the websites advertised on TikTok are a simple tick box.
TikTok says it does "not allow the depiction, promotion, or trade of drugs or other controlled substances" or "the trade of tobacco". But these pages appear to be getting around that.
Hazel Cheeseman, Deputy Chief Executive at ASH, said: "The way in which we've seen these products [vapes] on social media is really inappropriate, particularly as this seems to be among very youth orientated videos and influencers.”
"[Taking action on this content] is totally within the bounds of what the platforms themselves can be doing... They could take action themselves and take a responsible approach to the way the products are being promoted on their site."
ASH has recently released guidance to public health officials, as well as councillors, schools, parents and retailers, offering helpful information around the issue of youth vaping.
After ITV News flagged these accounts to TikTok, they said: "Nothing is more important to us than the safety and well-being of our community, and especially our teenage users.
"We strictly prohibit content that depicts or promotes the sale, trade or offer of tobacco, including vaping products, and we do not allow ads for these products. We have removed the flagged account and multiple other accounts for violating our Community Guidelines."
Source: ITV News, 26 August 2022
See also: ASH - Brief for local authorities on youth vaping
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Sweet shops selling children vapes at illegal strength
Illegal strength vapes aimed at children are being sold in sweet shops, The Sunday Telegraph reports.
The investigation found 5% nicotine vapes, more than double the legal limit of 2%, being sold in colourful dispels alongside sweets and chocolate in “American candy stores” in London. The 5% vapes have a capacity of 3.2ml, which is above the 2ml limit under the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations, and offer up to 800 puffs. Products offering more than 600 puffs are considered illegal in the UK.
The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health said it was “deeply disturbed” by the rise in young people taking up vaping, and said they were being targeted “with bright packaging, exotic flavours and enticing names”.
The Telegraph visited sweet shops in the capital and found two were selling 5% strength vapes.
A spokesperson for the Medicines and Healthcare Regulation Authority said anyone who found these “higher strengths” vapes should report them to their local Trading Standards.
Source: Sunday Telegraph, 28 August 2022
This article is only available in print.
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Shop under investigation after selling e-cigarette to child in council sting operation
A shop in West Northamptonshire is now under investigation after it sold an e-cigarette to a 16 year-old girl during a sting operation by West Northamptonshire Council (WNC). An undisclosed shop was the only one that failed to ask the girl for ID before selling her the age-restricted item.
WNC's Trading Standards carried out the test operation in shops that have been the subject of complaints over underage sales. Two 16 year-old girls, under the supervision of Trading Standards’ officers, visited 13 shops across Daventry and Northampton in August in order to attempt to buy e-cigarettes and cigarettes.
Of the 13 shops visited by the girls, only one failed to ask them for ID and refused sale when they could not produce any. WNC said the unnamed shop will now face further investigation.
The test purchases were part of an enforcement project supported by the Department of Health & Social Care that aims to ensure e-cigarettes or e-liquids are not sold to people under the age of 18. It follows a previous operation in April, when one out of the six shops visited sold e-cigarettes to a 16-year-old girl.
Source: Northants Live, 30 August 2022
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Smoking ban in west Wales health sites from this week
A smoking and tobacco ban in all mental health and learning disability sites throughout the Hywel Dda Health Board is to come into force this week.
The board is taking the action from Thursday 1 September, to protect the health and wellbeing of staff, patients and visitors.
The ban will include all residential units, wards, buildings, grounds and vehicles on the board's sites. This will mean that patients will no longer be able to bring tobacco products into hospital, and family and friends are being requested to not bring these items in for patients when visiting.
The health board said that smoking is the leading cause of avoidable illness and early death in Wales and people with mental health conditions are much more likely to be smokers. Smoking can contribute to the severity of mental health conditions and is one of the leading causes of reduced life expectancy for people with mental health conditions. Stopping smoking has a positive impact on mental health. Evidence shows that stopping smoking leads to improved mood and quality of life, as well as reduced symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Jo McCarthy, deputy director of public health for Hywel Dda University Health Board said: “This is great news for everyone across our three counties - however, we know this may be challenging for our patients and staff, and we can offer help and support to those that need it. Staff will be supported to have a conversation about smoking habits with all patients on arrival, offer replacement therapies (including options like nicotine patches and lozenges) and talk about the other support available. This will include help with cravings and ways to support patients to stay smoke-free. As part of a care plan, patients will also be offered personal support from a specialist adviser from the Smoking and Well-being Team.”
Source: Western Telegraph, 29 August 2022
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USA: Gallup poll finds more Americans smoke marijuana than cigarettes
More Americans smoke marijuana than tobacco, according to the results of a recent poll. The poll also found that the use of cannabis in the United States is at an all-time high, jumping by a third in just one year.
The Gallup poll, which was released on 16 August, shows that 16% of those surveyed said that they smoke marijuana, up from 12% in a similar poll only one year ago, although Gallup said the change was not statistically significant. In contrast, only 11% said that they had smoked a tobacco cigarette in the previous week in a separate poll published in July - down from a year ago when 16% said that they had smoked a cigarette in the past week and a significant decrease from the peak in the 1950s, when 45% of adults polled said that they were smokers.
The percentage of those who said they smoke marijuana was the highest since the question was first included in 2013, while the portion of those who said they smoked a tobacco cigarette in the previous week was the lowest recorded since the Gallup began tracking population smoking in 1944.
Nearly half (48%) of US adults say they have tried marijuana at some time in their lives, up from only 4% in 1969, when Gallup first started surveying rates of lifetime marijuana use. The same year, 40% of Americans said that they had smoked a cigarette in the past week.
Source: Forbes, 29 August 2022
See also: Gallup - Americans Not Convinced Marijuana Benefits Society
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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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