Calls to keep vape behind counters in cigarette-like packaging

Vapes should come in cigarette-like packaging and kept behind the counter in shops and retail outlets, British Medical Association has said today (28), calling on the government to tackle the “growing epidemic of vape use in the UK”.

With vape use among children and young people increasing almost six-fold in the last decade, a BMA report indicates that one of the most dominant factors influencing this rise is the widespread availability of disposable vapes.

Within the report, the professional association for doctors across the UK lays out a series of bold actions needed to stem the trend of increased vaping, particularly among children and young people, and those who have never smoked.

While the previous Conservative government introduced the Tobacco and Vapes Bill earlier this year which set out proposals around regulating the sale of vapes, this was not carried forward into the new parliamentary session. The new Labour Government re-introduced a Bill aimed at tackling smoking and youth vaping during the King’s Speech in July, but so far there are no details of any measures that will be taken.

In today’s report “Taking our breath away: why we need stronger regulation of vapes”, the BMA sets out its blueprint for what legislation should include to tackle rising vape use, especially among children and young people. Recommendations include:

• Banning the commercial sale of all disposable vapes, on the grounds of disproportionate and harmful use by children and young people and their adverse impact on the environment.
• Banning all non-tobacco vape flavours.
• Prohibiting the use of all imagery, colouring and branding for both the packaging and vape device, similar to current restrictions on cigarettes.
• Further restrictions on all advertising and marketing; and ensure vapes are kept behind the counter and not on display in shops and retail outlets.
• Government education campaigns for the public on the dangers of vapes to reduce appeal, especially among children and young people.

While the BMA recognises that vapes can be a useful tool in helping some people to stop smoking cigarettes, they offer a less dangerous rather than a risk-free alternative, with the World Health Foundation having declared them harmful. Vaping can lead to nicotine addiction, with nicotine having the potential to cause health problems such as high blood pressure and increased risk of COPD. Further, some e-cigarettes have been found to contain other harmful substances such as lead.

When combined with the rising number of children and young people trying and smoking vapes, the BMA says the Government must not shy away from taking brave action.

Professor David Strain, chair of the BMA’s board of science, said, "There is no denying we are living in a vaping epidemic. Vape usage has risen hugely in the last decade, with one in 10 ten adults now vaping. However, far more worrying, is the increase in young people who vape, with almost six times more 11-17 year-olds vaping now compared with ten years ago.

“As a doctor, I understand the role vapes can play in helping people to stop smoking, but they have no rightful place in our children and young people’s lives and when it comes to protecting their health, we cannot afford to gamble. An industry so obviously targeting children with colours, flavours and branding, to push a product that can lead to nicotine addiction and potential further harms cannot be allowed to happen any longer.

“And with two vapes thrown away every second in the UK, the environmental impact of this epidemic is disastrous.”

Dr Penelope Toff, chair of the BMA’s public health medicine committee, added, “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.

“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.”