According to the British Medical Association, vapes should only be sold ‘behind the counter’, like cigarettes, and not displayed in shops.
In a report published on Wednesday, the doctors’ union called on ministers to introduce legislation to tackle the “growing epidemic” of vaping in the UK.
According to a recent analysis by Action on Smoking and Health (Ash), 5.6 million adults in the UK vape, around 11% of the adult population. Vaping use among children and young people has increased almost sixfold in the past decade, with 7.6% of 11-17 year olds now vapeeither regularly or occasionally, compared to 1.3% in 2014.
Vapes can help some people quit smoking, but they are not without risk. Last year, the World Health Organization called for “urgent action” to protect children from e-cigarettes. Vaping can lead to nicotine addiction, while some devices contain other harmful substances, such as lead, or are even laced with the synthetic drug spice.
Labour announced in its July Speech from the Throne that it would revive the previous government’s Tobacco and Vaping Act. The Conservatives’ proposed legislation included measures to ban disposable vapes and restrict flavours and packaging, but was shelved after a general election was called. Details of the exact regulations Labour wants to introduce have yet to be published.
The BMA said that given the increasing number of children and young people trying e-cigarettes, the government “should not hesitate to take bold action”.
Prof David Strain, chair of the BMA’s scientific council, said: “As a doctor I understand the role vapes can play in helping people quit smoking, but they have no rightful place in the lives of our children and young people and when it comes to protecting their health we cannot afford to gamble.
“An industry that so clearly targets children with colours, flavours and brands, to promote a product that can lead to nicotine addiction and potential further harm, can no longer be allowed.”
The report is the first comprehensive document setting out the BMA’s policy on vaping since 2017. It is also the first time it has explicitly called for restrictions on all forms of advertising and marketing of e-cigarettes.
It follows a 2023 resolution by the BMA to review the dangers of vaping. Wednesday’s report, titled Taking our breath away: why we need stronger regulation of vapes, calls on the government to legislate to ensure vapes are kept behind the counter and not on display in shops and points of sale.
“More needs to be done to limit advertising for (vapes) and reduce their visibility so that children and young people are not encouraged to use them,” the report said. “Removing the visibility of vapes in shops will help to reduce exposure and awareness of the product, and in turn, their use.”
It also recommends a ban on the sale of disposable vapes and the use of all non-tobacco vape flavours. Vapes would only be sold in plain packaging, with all images, colours and branding on both the packaging and the vape device banned, as is the case with cigarettes.
Responding to the report, Ash Chief Executive Deborah Arnott said: “To introduce tougher regulations to curb youth vaping, the Tobacco and Vaping Bill must be swiftly put into law.
“We support strict regulation of the display and promotion of vapes and prohibit the use of sweet names, bright colours and cartoonish images. However, vapes are a highly effective smoking cessation aid and it is important that they remain so.”
Ash supports a ban on flavour descriptors rather than the flavours themselves, Arnott added, because “some flavours are associated with greater success in quitting smoking than tobacco flavours”.
Prof Lion Shahab, professor of health psychology and co-director of the tobacco and alcohol research group at University College London, said: “We need to make vaping boring again, but we need to be careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
“Proposed recommendations to curb youth e-cigarette use should focus on those evidence-based measures that do not also discourage harm reduction for smokers who have difficulty quitting the most dangerous product: combustible cigarettes.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “The marketing of vapes to children and young people is completely unacceptable. Vapes can be an effective way for adult smokers to quit, but we have always been clear that children and adult non-smokers should never vape.
“The Tobacco and E-Cigarette Bill will end the deliberate promotion of e-cigarettes to appeal to children, including by regulating their flavours and packaging and changing how and where they are displayed in stores.”
John Dunne, director general of vaping trade association UKVIA, said: “Stronger measures are needed to stop the supply of youth vaping and illicit products, but the proposals in this report would boost the black market, deter adult smokers from switching and push current vapers into the hands of underground sellers or back to cigarettes.
“What is needed to stop the sale of e-cigarettes to minors and illegal sales is a licensing system to prevent inappropriate businesses from selling e-cigarettes, and tougher penalties for those caught breaking the law.”