Impose heavier restrictions on disposable vapes to limit child use, urges committee

The Health and Social Care Committee believes that the government can maintain a public health message on the potential value of vapes as a tool to help smokers to quit while ensuring that its messaging and education, enforcement and regulatory approach keeps them out of sight and reach of children.

The committee is calling for the government to:

Steve Brine MP, Health and Social Care Committee chair, said, “Decisive action is needed now from both government and industry to tackle an alarming trend in the number of children vaping and to protect them from its harmful effects.

“It’s clear to us that the vaping industry has not gone far enough to ensure that its products don’t appeal to children. When you have brightly coloured and branded vapes with flavours that name unicorns, sweets and popular fizzy drinks displayed in locations ranging from newsagents to chicken shops, it’s disingenuous for the industry to claim otherwise.