Monday 29 January 2024
It will also become illegal for anyone born after January 1 2009 to buy tobacco under the plan to create a smoke-free generation
By Tamara Cohen of Sky News
The prime minister, pictured right, is also set to unveil new powers to restrict vape flavours as a means to make them less appealing to children. The Scottish government will also ban single-use vapes.
Dame Jackie Baillie, left, the Dumbarton MSP and Labour’s Scottish Health spokesperson, said: ““I am supportive of the decision to consider a ban on single use vapes.
“It has become all too evident that these vapes have been designed to appeal to young people who should not be using them.
“Although controls are already in place, it appears that these are not tight enough and I have had correspondence from concerned parents whose children are addicted to nicotine as a result of vaping.”
The proposed ban, which will form part of legislation that has to be approved by parliament, comes amid concern at the rise of vaping among children, with teachers reporting pupils showing signs of nicotine dependency in the classroom.
The prime minister will also make it illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009 as part of his pledge to create a smoke-free generation, while vaping alternatives such as nicotine pouches will also be outlawed.
Speaking to broadcasters during a visit to a school on Monday, Mr Sunak said the ban was balanced and the “right” action.
“You talk to any parent or teacher, they’ll talk to you about the worrying rise in vaping among children,” he said.
“Children shouldn’t be vaping, we don’t want them to get addicted, we still don’t understand the full long-term health impacts of vaping. So it is right we take strong action to stamp this out.”
He said it was “important that we maintain vapes for adult smokers who want to stop” but that his proposals were “balanced”.
“We have got the balance right, supporting adult smokers to stop smoking… but targeting all the things that make sure children don’t have access to vapes.”
Smoking remains the UK’s single biggest preventable killer, causing around one in four cancer deaths and leading to 80,000 deaths per year, while the health effects of vaping remain unknown.
The new measures follow a government consultation into smoking and vaping which was launched last year, in which nearly 70% of parents, teachers, healthcare professionals and the general public indicated their support for further restrictions.
Enforcement agencies, including Border Force and HMRC, are in line to receive £30m in new funding a year to enforce the measures.
The government will also bring in new fines for shops in England and Wales that sell vapes illegally to children, in addition to the maximum £2,500 fine that local councils can already impose.
Further restrictions on vaping have been touted after recent figures show the number of children using vapes in the past three years has tripled.
Under its plans, the government is expected to use the Environmental Protection Act to ban disposable vapes and hopes to achieve its aim by the end of 2025 at the latest.
The move has been welcomed by health and environmental campaigners. It is estimated that five million disposable vapes are thrown away each week – up from 1.3 million last year.
Dame Rachel de Souza, the Children’s Commissioner, said parents would be “extremely relieved” at the proposals.
“When I asked children a couple of years ago about all aspects of their health and wellbeing, I was shocked and concerned to hear from children as young as 12 who told me that vaping was normalised among their peers – even on school premises,” she said.
“This announcement will help tackle that issue and I know that many children and parents will be extremely relieved.”