The British Medical Association (BMA) is calling on the government to ban the sale of disposable vape products following what it says has been a sixfold increase in vape use among young people in the past decade.
In the report ’Taking our breath away: why we need stronger regulation of vapes’, the doctors’ professional association lays out a series of demands which it says will stem the trend.
Its recommendations include banning the commercial sale of all disposal vapes as well as all non-tobacco vape flavours, introducing similar restrictions on branding and pack imagery as for cigarettes, tighter restrictions on advertising and marketing, and keeping vapes behind shop counters and not on display. It also calls for a government education campaign to highlight the dangers of vaping and reduce its appeal, especially among children and young people.
The previous Conservative government introduced the Tobacco and Vapes Bill earlier this year, setting out proposals to regulate the sale of vapes, but the measure was not passed before Parliament was disolved. The new Labour administration has pledged to carry through similar legislation but, as yet, there are no details of what precisely it will include.
The BMA says it recognises the usefulness of vapes in supporting people trying to quit smoking cigarettes, but says there are significant health risks associated with the habit.
Professor David Strain, chair of the BMA’s board of science, says: “There is no denying we are living in a vaping epidemic. Vape usage has risen hugely in the last decade, with one in 10 ten adults now vaping.
“As a doctor, I understand the role vapes can play in helping people to stop smoking, but they have no rightful place in our children and young people’s lives and when it comes to protecting their health, we cannot afford to gamble.”
