The UK Government has launched its first-ever national campaign, rolling out primarily on social media and aimed at 13- to 18-year-olds, explaining the harms of vaping and nicotine addiction.
The campaign, Love Your Lungs, is using influencers to speak directly to its younger audience. The campaign emphasises that with their lungs and brains still developing, young people are more vulnerable to health risks.
Government-backed studies of health impacts of vaping launched
At the same time the government is backing three research projects that aim to get a fuller picture of the health effects of vaping. The largest of these will study the impact of vaping on young people as part of a wider Adolescent Health Study.
This £62 million research project into adolescent health, funded by UK Research and Innovation, will track 100,000 young people aged 8 to 18 years over a decade, collecting data on behaviour, biology and health records to understand what affects young people’s health and wellbeing. Recruiting of participants will begin next year.
Additionally, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is funding the University College London to produce annual updates capturing the latest vaping research from both the UK and international sources. The NIHR is also funding the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine to conduct a comprehensive analysis of youth vaping studies to date.
Ashley Dalton, Minister for Public Health and Prevention, said: “We know that vaping can be a useful tool to quit smoking, but it’s crucial we have clear evidence on the long-term health harms, especially for young people.
“This landmark series of studies, combined with our first nationwide youth vaping campaign, will help drive evidence-based, decisive action to protect our children’s future.”
The government action tackling the risks of vaping comes as its Tobacco and Vapes Bill continues through Parliament. The Bill introduces on the spot fines of £200 to retailers found to be selling tobacco, vape and nicotine products to people underage. The Bill will also introduce a ban on the advertising and sponsorship of vapes and provide powers to restrict the flavours, display and packaging of all types of vapes.
Publicity over vaping health concerns
Meanwhile there has recently been a number of shocking media stories in tabloid publications exposing health issues caused by vaping. These include a teenager coughing up blood due to excessive vaping and a dentist warning that he has seen more cases of a condition labelled as “vape tongue”. This is due to chemicals in vape liquid impacting the bacteria in people’s mouths.
A study into the impact of vaping, which is due to end this month carried out by Dr Maxime Boidin of Manchester Metropolitan University, also gained publicity. In the Daily Mirror story about the research Dr Boidin appeared to suggest that vaping could be more harmful than smoking.
However, Dr Boidin were separately criticised by an academic, Dr Michael Siegel, and public health expert, Clive Bates. They suggested that the science in the study appeared flawed and argued that scientific reports needed proper scrutiny, peer review and publication in a journal rather than the headlines from the Daily Mail, Daily Mirror and Manchester Evening News.
UK public health advice continues to be that children and non-smokers should never vape but nicotine vaping is less harmful than smoking and is one of the most effective tools for quitting smoking. Smoking, meanwhile, is the most common cause of preventable disease in the UK. Nearly 78,000 people die each year in the UK from smoking-related causes. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill’s overall aim, by progressively raising the age you can legally be sold tobacco products, is to gradually eliminate smoking.
Ecl-ips has been supporting schools, who are tackling the problem of vaping among students, by supplying the HALO Smart Sensor. A vape detector, along with a robust approach to dealing with perpetrators and education of young people about the risks of vaping, can help. Contact us to find out more.