Children addicted to vaping should avoid punishment and be given nicotine patches or gum to help them kick the habit, according to an official report.
Health experts want vaping to be seen as a “dependency issue” rather than a “deliberate act of misconduct”, and for young people to be given support to kick the habit.
A review by Public Health Wales (PHW) found that “vape dealers” are prevalent across all social groups, with children feeling pressure to “fit in and look good”.
Users reported suffering from “cravings” and “shaking,” while teachers warned that some students struggle to finish a single class without losing concentration and needing a nicotine fix.
PHW convened an Incident Response Group (IRG) of teachers and healthcare workers in July 2023 to investigate the rise of vaping among children and youth.
Their report, published today, makes a number of recommendations to help students break their addiction, including a call for those with dependency issues to have access to nicotine replacement therapies such as gum, skin patches or inhalers.
Other recommendations include restrictions on the visibility, appeal and availability of vaping to youth, such as banning colorful packaging.
The report says: ‘The concerns most commonly raised by professionals working with children and young people and raised by members of the Group were the increasing prevalence of nicotine dependence and the impact this was having on health, well-being and The learning.
“Staff reports of students having difficulty completing a school day, or even a class period between breaks without vaping, were consistently linked to the Group by those members working within or representing educational settings.”
Adds: ‘[Pupils] They sometimes lose concentration and find it difficult to complete other activities, which could affect their schoolwork and class attendance.
‘Vaping was talked about as something that could “calm you down,” “help with stress,” regulate “bad moods,” relieve “boredom,” and “give you something to do.”‘
Figures show that the number of pupils vaping at least weekly in their final year of secondary school has more than doubled in Wales, from 6.6 per cent in 2017 to 13.6 per cent in 2021.
Chris Emmerson, public health consultant at PHW, said there is a “clear consensus view” that the rise in youth vaping “must be urgently addressed” if it is to be tackled quickly and effectively.
He said: ‘These best practices provide a comprehensive framework to support young vapers in Wales.
‘By implementing these practices, we can better address the complex needs of children and youth struggling with vaping dependence.
“Nicotine replacement therapies, already offered to people over 12 years of age who smoke, are a tool that could help children and young people wean themselves off of their dependence on vaping, along with other support mechanisms.”
The IRG report said access to vaporizers was “relatively convenient” for children, who often come from older siblings and family members, stores and online businesses.
It said: “Vaping was most commonly observed in visible (although sometimes secluded) social settings.
‘This environment seemed to contribute to feelings of social pressure.
Tests on e-cigarettes confiscated from youth found they contained dangerous levels of lead, nickel and chromium. Some were almost ten times above the safety limits. Exposure to lead can affect brain development, while the other two metals can cause blood clotting.
Data from NHS Digital, based on the Smoking, Drinking and Drug Taking Survey among Young People in England for 2021, showed that 30 per cent of children in Yorkshire and the Humber have used a vape.
“Participants described a strong desire to fit in and look cool and found it difficult to turn down offers to share devices.”
The IRG recommendations are:
- Vaporizers should be “denormalized” and not allowed in spaces intended for children
- Advertising and display of vaporizers should be restricted, using only simple, unbranded packaging.
- Disposable vaporizers should be banned
- Flavor names should be restricted
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “We are very concerned about the rise in youth vaping and welcome the research carried out by the IRG into vaping among children and young people in Wales. We will consider their recommendations carefully.
“We are working with other UK governments to tackle youth vaping by reducing the appeal and availability of vapes to children through the UK Tobacco and Vaping Bill.”
The UK government has already announced plans to ban disposable vapes in England by April 2025, with a new vaping tax due to be implemented in October 2026.
Everything you need to know about electronic cigarettes
How much nicotine is in an electronic cigarette?
There are many different brands of e-cigarettes that contain different levels of nicotine.
The legal amount of nicotine in an e-liquid capacity in the UK is 20 mg/ml, which is equivalent to between 600 and 800 puffs.
The Elf Bar 600, one of Britain’s most popular vaporizers, is advertised with nicotine strengths of 0 mg, 10 mg and 20 mg.
How many cigarettes are “in” an electronic cigarette?
According to analysts, Elf Bar 600 contains the equivalent of 48 cigarettes.
It takes 600 puffs before you have to throw it away, which means that, in theory, every 12.5 puffs is equivalent to one cigarette.
Experts say that for many e-cigarettes, 100 puffs are equivalent to ten regular cigarettes.
Elf Bars is a brand of e-cigarettes that are often sold in stylish colors and with kid-friendly names and flavors, like Blue Razz Lemonade and Green Gummy Bear.
Is vaping better for your health than cigarettes?
According to the NHS, vaping products are considered better than cigarettes as users are exposed to fewer toxins and at lower levels.
The health service adds that vaping instead of smoking cigarettes reduces exposure to toxins that can cause cancer, lung diseases, and heart and circulation diseases, such as strokes and heart attacks.
Public Health England, which no longer exists, published an independent expert review in 2015 that concluded that e-cigarettes are around 95 percent less harmful than cigarettes.
However, vaping is not risk-free, as although the levels in tobacco products are much higher, e-cigarettes still contain harmful toxins, according to a study by researchers at the Medical University of Silesia in Poland.
And Dr. Onkar Mudhar, a London dentist who posts videos on TikTok, said Elf bars can cause gum inflammation, swelling and bleeding.
He said this is because nicotine dries out the mouth and reduces saliva, causing irritation due to a buildup of bacteria and food that cannot be removed.
Almost 350 vaping hospitalizations were recorded in England in 2022, which are thought to be mainly due to respiratory problems such as difficulty breathing, chest pain, lung inflammation and, in severe cases, respiratory failure.