A Dublin professor has expressed his concern for young people as he says that vaping is being promoted on TikTok.
Professor Des Cox, chair of Royal College of Physicians Policy Group on Tobacco is worried about the increasing trend of vaping in young people under the age of 18 and he believes that social media is playing a part in it.
He told RTE Radio One: “There’s a big issue with the marketing of disposable vapes and the most common form of advertising for people in a recent study was through TikTok. Manufacturers' tactics are that they’re trying to get young people hooked on these devices. That’s what’s concerning.”
Even though Professor Cox said that vaping isn’t as harmful as cigarettes, he still sees it as a big concern.
“When you see the studies on people switching over to e-cigarettes, about 40 to 50% of them continue to smoke, that’s what we call dual-users,” he added.
“There were significant effects from chronic vaping to the heart and lungs. Overtime, we will be seeing this. It won’t present overnight. There’s unique chemicals in them, they’re a different kettle of fish to tobacco and we don’t know what these unique ingredients are going to do to people over time.”
The professor highlighted that it’s becoming a child protection issue and that vaping could lead to taking up smoking.
He said: “A study of 4,000 children aged between 15 and 16 year olds found that 22% are users of e-cigarettes
“It’s becoming a child protection issue now. Numerous studies show that they (younger people) are attracted by the flavours. Rather than allowing young children and young adults to start this habit, they become addicted to nicotine and they’ll have a problem coming off that.”
Research found in 2021, published in the BMC Public Health journal, found that vaping has risen rapidly among teens with the current number of those using e-cigarettes jumping from 10% to 18% between 2015 and 2019.
It was also found that over 33% of teenagers said they had tried out electronic cigarettes in 2019 but it was just under a quarter in 2015, which means the figures increased from 23% to 37%.
A TikTok Spokesperson told Dublin Live: "Keeping the TikTok community safe is our top priority, and none more so than our younger users. Our guidelines make clear that content promoting the sale, trade or offer of tobacco, including vaping products, is not permitted, regardless of age.
"There is no finish line when it comes to our community's safety and we will continue to invest at scale in our people and technology to proactively detect and remove content that violates our Community Guidelines."
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