UK doctors have demanded a total ban on disposable vapes and all flavours except tobacco to tackle a “vaping epidemic” among young people.
In a new report, the British Medical Association (BMA), a trade union that opposed the formation of the NHS, urges the government to “take bold and brave actions” to protect the health of children and young people.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer recently pledged to revive the controversial Tobacco and Vapes Bill that was introduced by his predecessor Rishi Sunak. The bill includes plans to ban disposable vapes and impose restrictions on their flavours, packaging and how they are displayed in shops.
Flavoured vapes proven to help smokers quit
Vaping advocates argue that while measures must be taken to prevent young people vaping, flavours can be essential in helping smokers to quit the far more deadly habit.
A recent study by the University of Bristol revealed that restricting the choice of flavoured vapes has an adverse effect on adults who use vapes as a tool to quit or cut down on smoking.
Despite this, the BMA now wants the proposed bill to go even further to include stricter restrictions on vapes, their flavours and the marketing of them.
Dr Penelope Toff, chair of the BMA’s Public Health Medicine Committee, said: “The last government made significant progress putting forward a bill that included a ban on disposable vapes, and plans to regulate flavours and marketing.
“This new Government must now ensure these measures are carried through into legislation – and it would do well to go even further.”
Dr Toff described the BMA report – ‘Taking our breath away: why we need stronger regulation of vapes’ – as a “blueprint” of the actions that should be taken by ministers.
Call for total ban on disposable vapes
It calls for a ban on the sale of disposable vapes “on the grounds of disproportionate and harmful use by children and young people and their adverse impact on the environment”.
The BMA also suggests all vape flavours apart from tobacco should be banned, with measures introduced to prohibit the use of imagery, colouring and branding on packaging and e-cigarettes, as well as further restrictions on all advertising and marketing.
Dr Toff warned vape use among youngsters is a “serious public health threat”.
She said: “We are calling on ministers to take bold and brave actions that will make a real difference, like banning all vape flavours other than tobacco, so that the grip these products have on our children and young people is released, while still ensuring they remain an option to help some people stop smoking.
“Likewise, there is no reason why they should need colourful branding and displays; they should be relegated to behind the shop counter, in plain packaging, like cigarettes have been for years.
“While this Government has rightly pledged to tackle smoking and vaping, the test will be in how it acts. As we await details, we have put together this blueprint of the actions that are crucial right now to stop this serious public health threat in its tracks.”
Black market fears
The BMA says it wants tighter regulations to tackle the illegal sale of vapes, including Government-funded education campaigns, as well as measures to stop the sale of other products, such as nicotine pouches, to young people.
However, similar moves in other countries - such as Australia and Brazil - to ban vaping have led to an out-of-control black market and turf wars among criminal gangs.
