Paediatricians have warned youth vaping is “fast becoming an epidemic among children” as they called for the government to ban disposable vapes.

Responding to the government consultation on e-cigarettes, which closes on Tuesday, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) warned they “are not a risk-free product and can be just as addictive, if not more so than traditional cigarettes”.

It called for urgent action to protect youngsters, saying experts agree longer-term data is needed on the effects of vaping, particularly in regard to cardiovascular disease.

“However, since e-cigarettes have only been on sale in the UK since 2007, long-term studies don’t yet exist,” it said.

“We have even less evidence on the long-term impacts of these products on young lungs, hearts and brains.

“It took experts decades to fully understand the impact of traditional cigarettes, we cannot risk our children’s health in waiting this long again for longer-term studies.”

In May, data for Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) showed there had been a 50% rise in the proportion of children trying vaping in Great Britain in the last year.

It found a rise in experimental vaping among 11 to 17-year-olds, from 7.7% last year to 11.6% this year.

The proportion of children who said they had tried vaping once or twice roughly doubled in nine years from 5.6% in 2014 to 11.6%.

Disposable vapes appeared to be the e-cigarette of choice among youngsters and purchases of vapes are mostly made from corner shops.

In 2021 current child vapers were least likely to vape disposables (7.7%), but in 2022 they became the most used (52%) and the trend has continued to rise to 69% in 2023.

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Four ‘high-impact interventions’

In its submission, the RCPCH also said the “serious environmental impact of disposable e-cigarettes” must not be ignored.

Its vice president for policy and paediatric respiratory consultant, Dr Mike McKean, said: “Without a doubt, disposable e-cigarettes should be banned.

“There is absolutely no reason that these cheap, readily available, brightly coloured, recreational products should be single use.

“Youth vaping is fast becoming an epidemic among children, and I fear that if action is not taken, we will find ourselves sleepwalking into a crisis.”

In its response to the consultation, ASH said there were “four high-impact interventions” ministers must urgently implement.

These are: put a specific tax on disposable vapes of £5; prohibit branding that would appeal to children; reinstate funding for sustained anti-smoking campaigns promoting vaping as the most effective quitting aid available to adult smokers; and prohibit in-store promotion of e-cigarettes with exemptions for age-restricted, specialist vape shops.

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It comes after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said a new government crackdown on vape marketing will prevent the “unacceptable” targeting of children and young people.

The government also pledged to close a loophole allowing retailers to give free samples of vapes to children in England.

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