| The government has launched a public consultation on youth vaping as part of measures to clamp down on vapes being promoted to children.
The announcement follows calls from Cheshire and Merseyside Directors of Public Health and other system organisations and colleagues.
In June this year, Cheshire and Merseyside’s Directors of Public Health engaged in a major piece of media work to call for a country-wide ban on the sale of disposable vapes by publishing a joint position statement.
The statement specifically condemned the targeting of children by tobacco companies, who are being enticed by clever marketing tricks and being set up for a life-long smoking habit, calling this behaviour ‘disgraceful’.
The statement also warned against the environmental impact of disposable plastic vapes and as well as a ban on the sale of disposable vapes, also called for greater regulation and licensing of the sale of vapes and other preventative measures.
You can read the full statement here.
Have your say on the government consultation
Last week, the Prime Minister unveiled plans to introduce a new law to stop children who turn 14 this year or younger from ever legally being sold cigarettes, in a bid to create the first ‘smokefree generation’. Smoking is the UK’s biggest preventable killer – causing around 1 in 4 cancer deaths and 64,000 in England alone – costing the economy and wider society £17 billion each year.
He also set out the government’s concerns about the worrying rise in vaping among children, with youth vaping tripling in the last three years and one in five children having now used a vape. Vaping is rightly used by adults as a tool to quit smoking, but the health advice is clear – if you don’t smoke, don’t vape and children should never vape.
Views on these proposals are now being sought from everyone, of all ages across the UK.
The consultation asks questions in 3 areas for which new legislation would be needed, which are:
1. Creating a smokefree generation: consulting on the smokefree generation policy and its scope.
2. Tackling youth vaping: consulting on several options to ensure we take the most appropriate and impactful steps, building on England’s analysis of the youth vaping call for evidence.
3. Enforcement: consulting on the proposal to introduce new powers for local authorities in England and Wales to issue fixed penalty notices to enforce age of sale legislation of tobacco products and vapes.
The consultation launched on Thursday 12 October and will close at 11:59pm on 6 December 2023.
Respond online here. |
