The number of children vaping is going up, with many being influenced by social media sites, a new report has said.
The study, shared with the PA news agency, has found that newer, disposable e-cigarettes are becoming more popular. Data from the survey of children, carried out for Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) and part-funded by the Department of Health, shows many youngsters are attracted to the devices, which appear on social media sites such as TikTok and Instagram.
Around 52% of youngsters who vaped said disposable e-cigarettes were their favoured product, a sharp rise on the 7% who said the same thing in 2020. Over the last year, a new generation of disposable vapes known as 'puff bars' - which contain nicotine - have come on to the market.
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The most popular brands are Elf Bar and Geek Bar, according to the report, with only 32% of young vapers saying they use a different brand. While it is illegal to sell vapes to under-18s, social media carries posts from teenagers showing the new vapes and discussing the flavours, which include pink lemonade, strawberry banana and mango.
Around 2,613 children across Britain took part in the survey, carried out by YouGov in March, which informed ASH's report. The overall results showed that while "regular use of e-cigarettes has significantly increased", most (84%) of 11 to 17-year-olds have never tried e-cigarettes, and the vast majority of current vapers are smokers or former smokers.
The data showed the proportion of children aged 11 to 17 currently vaping has jumped from 4% in 2020 to 7% in 2022. The percentage who have ever tried vaping has also risen, from 14% in 2020 to 16% in 2022.
In 2013, just 3% of children aged 11 to 15 had ever vaped, but this rose to 8% in 2020 and 10% in 2022. For those aged 16 and 17, the figures jumped from 7% in 2013 to 29% in 2022. For those aged 18, it went from 9% to 41%. Overall, 4% of 11 to 15-year-olds are currently vaping, while the figure is 14% for 16 and 17-year-olds.
The survey also asked youngsters about awareness of the promotion of e-cigarettes. Over half (56%) of 11 to 17-year-olds were aware of e-cigarette promotion, with awareness highest amongst those who had ever vaped (72%). TikTok was mentioned most often as the source of online promotion (cited by 45% of children), followed by Instagram (31%) and Snapchat (22%).
Deborah Arnott, chief executive of ASH, said: "The disposable vapes that have surged in popularity over the last year are brightly coloured, pocket-size products with sweet flavours and sweet names. They are widely available for under a fiver - no wonder they're attractive to children."
She said more funding was needed to enforce the law against underage sales and action was needed on child-friendly packaging and labelling, and promotion on social media. "Online platforms don't need to wait, they must act now," she said. "The flood of glamourous promotion of vaping on social media, in particular TikTok, is completely inappropriate and they should turn off the tap."
Gillian Golden, chief executive of the Independent British Vape Trade Association, said: "Social media platforms supposedly have policies to prevent promotion of vapes to children, but they do little to enforce them. We monitor and report infringements to social media platforms, but they rarely take any action, with TikTok being the worst offender.
"Businesses that illegally sell products to under-18s are also more likely to break the law by selling products that do not comply with UK regulations. Most retailers and importers don't sell to children and want tougher enforcement to ensure that others don't either."
A spokeswoman for TikTok said: "At TikTok, nothing is more important than keeping our community safe, especially our youngest users. Regardless of a user's age, we strictly prohibit content that depicts or promotes the sale, trade or offer of tobacco, including vaping products, and we will remove any content found to be violating our community guidelines. We also do not recommend content that shows or promotes tobacco products in TikTok users' feeds."
Instagram declined to comment, the PA news agency said.
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