A recent report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) demonstrated that the UK is not alone in having to tackle the large number of young people now vaping.
The WHO’s global report into tobacco and nicotine consumption shows that at least 15 million children (13–15 years) are already using e-cigarettes. In countries with data like the UK, children are on average nine times more likely than adults to vape.
“E-cigarettes are fuelling a new wave of nicotine addiction,” said Etienne Krug, WHO Director of Health Determinants, Promotion and Prevention Department. “They are marketed as harm reduction but, in reality, are hooking kids on nicotine earlier and risk undermining decades of progress.”
Government video campaign warns of the risks of vaping for young people
Following this report, the UK government announced the launch of a video campaign aimed at young people which warn about the dangers of so-called ‘THC vapes’ that often contain dangerous synthetic cannabinoids like spice rather than THC. The videos target 16 to 24 years olds and social media users, following a worrying rise in the number of young people being harmed by drugs, which also include ketamine and counterfeit medicines.
The dangers of contaminated vapes were highlighted last year in research by the University of Bath. This year a separate study it conducted, along with other universities, showed how easy it was for young people to buy these dangerous and illegal vapes through social media platforms. Police forces are using the spice detection device developed by the University of Bath to quickly identify contaminated vapes. The Met recently launched a campaign aimed at students and said spice was also being used to spike vapes and was using the device to counter this problem.
Police and Trading Standards seize illicit vapes
There has also been a big push across the country in recent weeks to seize illegal vapes and other illicit tobacco products by local police forces and trading standards officers. This is part of a national campaign, Operation CeCe, led by HMRC and National Trading Standards which originally began in 2021. In 2023 laws came into force which led to greater sanctions for businesses that were found to sell illicit vapes including penalties of up to £10,000 and the ability of local authority trading standards to refer cases to HMRC for further investigation.
The London Borough of Hounslow reported that raids in Chiswick, Feltham and Hounslow High Street led to the seizure of 4,859 illegal vapes with a market value of around £30,000. The vapes seized were found to exceed the legal tank size and nicotine strength limits, or were unregistered and illegal for sale in the UK.
Meanwhile, earlier in the month in Doncaster over 1,000 counterfeit vapes were seized. At the end of September, Stoke-on-Trent council reported that 600 illicit vapes were seized from five shops across the city.
How we can support schools
In recent years Ecl-ips has been supporting schools to help tackle the challenge that young people vaping has given them. This has led to anti-social behaviour by children and lack of concentration in the classroom. By installing Halo Smart Sensors in their toilets, schools, such as St Joseph’s in Stoke-on-Trent, have been able to monitor the problem and take swift action to stop it. If you want to find out more, please get in touch.