Disposable vapes: what needs to be done to protect our lung health
E-cigarettes, also known as vapes, can be a useful tool to help quit smoking, but they don’t come without risks. Laura from our policy team discusses the challenges of disposable vapes and what the government needs to do about them.
A cause for concern
More than 4.7 million adults in Great Britain now use vapes. Vapes are less harmful than smoking because they don’t contain the tar and toxins that are found in cigarettes and they’ve also been shown to help people to stop smoking. However, lots of people are starting to vape even if they don’t smoke. In 2023, 20% of all 11–17-year-olds have used a vape. This includes the 3.7% who vape regularly and 3.9% who vape occasionally. And while adults are typically choosing reusable vapes, younger people are using disposable vapes.
Bad news for our lung health
Although we don’t yet know the long-term impact of vaping on lung health, we do know that vaping can cause inflammation in the airways, which may cause harm over time. Some people with asthma tell us that it triggers their asthma symptoms. We are particularly worried about the health impact of vaping on young people - nicotine exposure can harm the developing brain and the addictive nature of nicotine may lead to cigarette use.
The problem with disposable vapes
Disposable vapes have become popular recently, particularly with young people. These vapes are not being used to quit smoking but are becoming a new addiction themselves.
They’re widely available on the high street at pocket money prices, and their sweet-inspired flavours and cartoon-branded packs are highly appealing to young people.
Exciting and fashionable social media advertising has also added to the appeal of vapes to young people.
The government can help protect our lung health
We think there are things the government can do to protect our lung health from the impact of disposable vapes.
1. Place a ban on disposable vapes
A ban would make disposable vapes less accessible on the high street and will prevent children and young people from accessing them so easily. But there are big questions about how this would work that need to be answered first. A ban needs to make sure there are no loopholes and enforcement bodies like Trading Standards need enough funding and resources to enforce it properly. This ban would still allow adults to use vapes to quit smoking by switching to reusable vapes.
2. Increase the price of vaping products
A ban will take time to put into place, so the government should act today by increasing the price of vapes. This will make them less affordable to children. Increasing the price through a tax also provides the government with more money which can be used to help Trading Standards enforce the ban.
Any increase in price should run alongside the expansion of the Swap to Stop scheme, so more people on low incomes can access a free vaping device to help them stop smoking.
3. Ban vape flavours that appeal to children
Vape flavours such as bubble gum and watermelon are the same flavours found in sweets and are used to make vapes more appealing to children. We want these flavours banned, or for vapes to only have generic flavour descriptions so they’re less appealing.
4. Restrict the advertising of vapes
We want to see vapes being sold the same way tobacco is with a ban on all advertising, only available in plain packaging, and a ban on promotions such as buy one get one free.
5. A public health campaign to raise awareness
We would like to see the health service run a campaign to educate people on the risks of taking up vaping. We want smokers to know how vaping can help them to quit smoking, but we want it to be clear that people who do not smoke, especially young people, should not take up vaping.
6. More research into the risks of vaping
We need more research into the long-term health impact of vapes on both adults and children. We also need research into how to quit vaping, so the most appropriate regulations can be put in place and keep our lungs healthy.
7. Support for people to quit vaping
Stop smoking services should become nicotine dependency services to make sure they can help people who want to stop vaping too. We also need guidelines about stopping vaping for healthcare professionals too.
For more information about vaping and lung health, visit our website.
References
ash.org.uk/resources/view/use-of-e-cigarettes-among-adults-in-great-britain-2021
ash.org.uk/uploads/Use-of-vapes-among-young-people-GB-2023.pdf?v=1690455394
Frequency of social media use and exposure to tobacco or nicotine-related content in association with E-cigarette use among youth: A cross-sectional and longitudinal survey analysis. Julia Vassey, Arthur Galimov, Chris J. Kennedy, Erin A. Vogel, Jennifer B. Unger. 102055, 2022, Preventive Medicine Reports, Vol. 30.