Another hot topic dominating national headlines at the moment is the raging youth vaping epidemic seemingly tearing its way across the country.
Everyday there appears to be yet another ‘shock horror’ news story, painting images of a nicotine-addicted child army ransacking parents’ bags and local stores in the hunt for the next hit.
Fearful mums, dads, teachers and a handful of health professionals are now on high alert, judging vaping less as an antidote to the UK’s smoking crisis and more a public health catastrophe in the making.
But is there any truth to the growing warnings, or is this yet another false alarm set to dismantle the harm reduction industry?
Unlike popcorn lung, there IS evidence that young people are accessing e-cigarettes.
Action on Smoking and Health revealed the number of ‘current users’ amongst 11 to 17-year-olds had almost doubled in two years.
And that’s the statistic that you’ve likely seen quoted in the recent onslaught of negative vaping stories…but that’s not the only thing the ASH report had to say.
The document highlighted that more than 80 percent of 11 to 17-year-olds had, in fact, ‘never tried or were unaware of e-cigarettes’.
It also suggested that regular vaping ‘remains rare’ amongst youngsters who’ve never smoked, with just 0.5 percent using them on a weekly basis.
Amazingly, not a single young vaper who’d never previously smoked said they were actually ‘addicted’ to e-cigarettes, with many saying they just wanted to ‘give them a try’…another seldom reported statistic.
Ultimately, the ASH report confirmed that, while ‘awareness of e-cigarettes is high’, regular use is still ‘very low’.
It said that vaping is largely confined to current or former smokers and use amongst young never smokers is ‘mostly experimental’.
Naturally, this creates a better image of the ‘child hooking’ vape industry than all those scare stories would have you believe…but make no mistake, as long as children are accessing e-cigarettes, there is an issue to address.
And it’s an issue that could spiral out of control if not handled correctly.
We’ve already seen a similar youth vaping moral panic ravage the US, leaving many brands struggling to stay afloat and many more wiped from the face of the earth.
The situation is so volatile that there are growing reports of young people being strip searched by school staff or brutalised by police for as little being suspected of carrying a vape device.
If the UK follows the American anti-vaping playbook, there’s a real chance that opinions of lifesaving e-cigarettes could be soured and we may well criminalise a community of ex-smokers just looking to take back their health.
Advocates and experts are now saying enforcement is the solution to the youth vaping problem and NOT blacklisting vaping as nothing more than a tool to addict kids.
To ‘find the right balance’ between helping smokers quit and bringing an end to youth vaping, the UKVIA has proposed a number of hard-line regulations that hold ‘unscrupulous’ retailers and distributors accountable.
The recommendations included a new licensing scheme and hefty £10,000 penalties for ‘rogue traders’ who flout UK law.
John Dunne of the UKVIA, said more is needed to bear down on those selling to minors and the industry, regulators and enforcement bodies must come together to keep vapes out of the wrong hands.
The UK Vaping Industry Association Director General said:
“Make no mistake, the issue of youth access to vaping sits firmly with unscrupulous traders who are happy to sell to children.
“To combat rising numbers of children vaping, the supply of vapes to the underaged has to be cut off at source.
“Together, these actions will help vaping fulfil the vital role that the recently published Khan review sees for the category in making smoking obsolete in the most responsible manner.”
To read more on the UKVIA’s ‘get tough’ measures, see the story ‘Why tough action & fines are needed to tackle youth access to vapes‘.
Reactions to youth vaping concerns
Hundreds have taken to social media to offer their thoughts on youth vaping concerns. Here’s what just a few had to say…
The new UK data show UK teen vaping increased 3% and UK teen smoking dropped 2% between 2020 and 2022. This is not a catastrophe. It's product substitution.
Teens should not vape or smoke. The real catastrophe is that 14% of UK teens smoke. Only 1.9% now smoke in the USA.
— Charles A. Gardner, PhD (@ChaunceyGardner) July 25, 2022
The UK has an enlightened policy on vaping but is recent days the Mail, Telegraph and now the Guardian have run stories about a largely mythical *teen vaping epidemic* backed up with some of the wilder nonsense from the USA. Loon at the language here: *public health catastrophe* https://t.co/HkjEbVuIhZ
— Simon Cooke (@SimonMagus) July 24, 2022
98.7% of on-smoking UK adolescents either don't vape, have tried e-cigarettes once or twice, or use e-cigarettes less than once a week.
There is no epidemic. Smoking youths are transitioning into vaping youths.
Though they should do neither, vap8ng is a much safer alternative. pic.twitter.com/nq3wcpI4TH
— Robb Cabansag (@RobbCab) July 23, 2022
Whilst the research cited in this article did find a significant increase in e-cigarette current use, current users remain a minority of the total cohort.
14.1% of 16-17 year-olds and 20.2% of 18 year-olds reported current use of e-cigarettes.https://t.co/JMzf5Ad1KA
— ASH (@AshOrgUK) July 25, 2022
