Has Australia got it right?
By prohibiting all varieties of vaping devices, and making them only available on prescription, Australia appears to have gone much further than other countries in combating the uptake of vaping by children.
This got me thinking: what should the purpose of vapes be from a healthcare point of view? And what measures are there to deter children from vaping?
Whilst in the UK it is illegal to sell vapes to under 18s, according to my secondary school-age nieces, schools are awash with them. Even my 9 year old commented on how “fun” vapes look and how nice they smell…
The situation in the UK seems ridiculous.
Whilst I appreciate that vapes are one of the valuable tools that can help cigarette smokers to quit, they are marketed in ways which attract children! For example they are placed next to the sweeties counter at eye-level for a child; they come in sweet flavours with exciting names, colourful packaging and the message of being “healthier” than cigarettes. We are in danger of having a situation in which vaping is now luring in children who would never have been tempted to try smoking.
What I find incomprehensible is that they are not treated with anywhere near the caution and regulation accorded to cigarettes e.g. no advertising, strict labelling and packaging requirements and restricted view of products for sale.
How are children supposed to be able to tell the difference between a regulated and a non-regulated (illegal) vape? It’s confusing enough for grownups!
Nicotine itself is widely reported to affect cognitive development in the adolescent brain. This, along with unsafe amounts of heavy metals and other harmful chemicals, which have been found in unlicensed vaping products, causes a plethora of health problems.
Other countries have taken more moderate steps than Australia to discourage children from taking it up, for example banning non-tobacco flavourings.
The UK government is considering several options to help tackle the child vaping issue, including:
– Restricting vape flavours
– Keeping vapes out of sight of children in shops
– Regulating vape packaging
– Restricting the sale of disposable vapes
– Introducing an age restriction for non-nicotine vapes
– Preventing industry from giving out free samples of vapes to children.
In addition to all the health concerns, vapes contain portable batteries. Don’t even get me started on that one!
