Rise in alarming trend sparks concern in Plymouth
Plymouth councillors are calling for urgent restrictions on the advertising and sale of vapes to young people - including a ban on sales in shops. They also want to see a prohibition on giving free vapes to children.
A motion on notice has been put forward to the full meeting of Plymouth City Council on Monday, January 27, looking at strengthening measures to combat youth vaping. A council document said: “Despite sales being age-restricted, vapes have become increasingly popular among young people, causing issues in schools, impacting on learning, and posing significant public health concerns.” It comes after the alarming rise of vaping among schoolchildren was raised to MPs by a senior Devon education boss.
Councillors are expected to ask for Government ministers and health chiefs to take action. The motion, proposed by Labour Cllr Daniel Steel and seconded by Cllr Mary Aspinall, requests that Council Leader Tudor Evans write to Andrew Gwynne, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health and Prevention, urging him to speed up consultations and introduce stricter regulations on the advertising and sale of vapes “as soon as possible”.
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The council document said this includes restricting branding and packaging to reduce appeal to young people, banning the distribution of free vapes to children, and regulating the contents and flavours of vapes to prevent targeting young people. It also wants a limit on the display and promotion of vapes in retail environments “including introducing a ban on shop floor sale of vapes”.
The motion calls for the minister to set out a clear timeframe for when consultations will happen, and secondary legislation laid before Parliament. It will also ask for Cllr Evans to write to Dr Sam Roberts, chief executive of the National for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to request that the Government considers the development of national guidance on advice, intervention and support that should be available for young people aged under 18 who routinely smoke tobacco, and may be dependent on nicotine, that wish to switch to vaping as a less harmful method of using nicotine. It also wants the guidance to cover young people who have become dependent on nicotine through vaping but wish to reduce harm or stop and request help to do so.
It calls on Plymouth’s director of public health to engage with and influence other directors of public health to prioritise actions to prevent youth vaping. This includes writing to local businesses and national chains to request they voluntarily take actions to prevent youth vaping “namely, removing vapes and associated products from shop floors”.
Last year Plymouth health chiefs warned youngsters about the dangers of using illegal drugs in vapes after confirming city children had needed medical help after vaping. They warned young people can become seriously unwell after vaping with drugs and end up needing medical attention and confirmed “a number of recent incidents in Plymouth.”
Plymouth City said recent data indicates that in the UK, the proportion of 11 to 17 year olds vaping has risen from 4% in 2020 to 7% in 2022. In Plymouth, 10% of children and young people surveyed reported using vapes – although this is suspected to be higher amongst some groups of children.
The council report said: “Evidence in adults shows that regulated vape products and devices are less harmful than smoking and can aid adults in quitting smoking, but vaping of any kind is not recommended for children and young people due to potential health risks. Short-term effects include headaches, sore throats, dizziness, and coughs, with long-term effects still unknown.”
The motion said the council welcomes the Government’s introduction of the Tobacco and Vaping Bill 2024 to strengthen restrictions and regulations around tobacco and vape usage to protect young people and ensure they never start to smoke or vape. It said Plymouth City Council recognises the critical role that local authorities’ trading standards will play in building compliance within various areas of both existing vape regulations and those planned for consultation.
It also commended the council’s Public Health Team, city schools, and other partners for the progress they have made in implementing a broad programme of work around vaping prevention for both children and adults, including action to prevent vaping in schools and reduce school exclusions due to vaping. It praised schools in Plymouth which have committed to address “harmful vaping” through an innovative school place-based improvement plan.
The council also agreed with the Chief Medical Officer of England’s public health view that “if you smoke, vaping is safer; if you don’t smoke you shouldn’t vape” and that marketing to children is “utterly unacceptable”.
Cllr Steel, Labour councillor for Plymstock Radford, said: "The Tobacco & Vapes Bill is a world leading piece of legislation, and it can’t come soon enough given we know around one in 10 young people in Plymouth use vapes. It will benefit everyone including Plymouth’s youngest residents..
"We’re rightly proud of Plymouth’s innovative work with local schools and other citywide partners to tackle harmful vaping at schools. We have made real progress, but we can and must go further.
"Plymouth should continue to be at the forefront of the fight to protect young people’s health which is why I’m calling on ministers to introduce the new tobacco and vape rules as soon as possible. But we don’t have to wait to take action locally. That’s why I’m asking all councillors to back my call on local businesses to act right away by voluntarily ending the shop floor sale of vapes."
In 2023 the council debated a motion on notice from independent councillor Terri Beer on the impact of vaping on young people. Ahead of Monday’s meeting Cllr Beer said: “Vapes are dangerous to young people if additional ingredients are added and impact education. Please beware if your young person is using vapes and the impact it's having on them, their home life and their school community.
“It is a fact that young people have died or even suffered long term effects from vaping. There has not been enough research on this and more needs to be done to protect young people from harm.”
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