Online promotion of vaporizers risks undermining measures such as raising taxes on vaping liquid, campaigners have warned.
His warning comes after a new study suggested that young people who spent just an hour a day on social media sites such as Instagram and TikTok tripled their chances of taking up vaping.
While ministers plan to increase taxes on vaping liquid by up to £3 from 2026, in a bid to put it out of reach of ‘pocket money’ prices, children are still being promoted as vapers in cyberspace .
Hazel Cheeseman, deputy chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), said her own research indicated that almost one in three teenagers (29 per cent) reported having been promoted as vapers online, with TikTok being the “biggest culprit”.
Speaking on Radio 4 this morning, Ms Cheeseman said the promotion of vaping on social media could impact welcome efforts to tackle vaping among young people.
Researchers found that young people who spend a lot of time on social media are more likely to start vaping and smoking
While ministers plan to increase taxes on vaping liquid by up to £3 from 2026, in a bid to put it out of reach of ‘pocket money’ prices, children are still being promoted as vapers in cyberspace (archive image)
“I think these online spaces risk undermining the restrictions we are imposing in the real world,” he said.
‘Young people use these disposable vaping products, not because they are disposable, but because they are very attractive, they are actually available in stores and they are quite cheap.
“Therefore, addressing the promotional elements and pricing of these products is absolutely the right way to go.”
Deborah Arnott, chief executive of ASH, also told MailOnline that vape prices needed to be increased and would stop children using them.
“Increasing the price of these products is a priority, but effective regulations must be comprehensive and well thought out, rather than knee-jerk reactions,” he said.
‘Children, who typically do not have large amounts of disposable income, are price sensitive. If prices rise, they will buy less. It is essential to make these products less attractive and less easily accessible.
«These strategies must go hand in hand. The Government must act on all fronts, as all these aspects are interconnected and essential for effective change.’
His comments came in response to new research from experts, including Imperial College London, which found that children who spend a lot of time on Instagram and TikTok are more likely to vape and smoke cigarettes.
The likelihood of children picking up the habit seemed proportional to the amount of time they spent on social media.
This was particularly evident at higher levels of use, as those who spend more than seven hours a day on social media are almost four times more likely to vape than non-users, and eight times more likely to smoke.
The study, published in the journal Thorax, included data from 10,808 people aged 10 to 25 in the United Kingdom.
The analysis revealed that 0.8 percent of those who did not use social networks vaped, a figure that increases to 2.4 percent among those who use them one to three hours a day.
This increased to 3.8 percent for those who use social media four to six hours a day and 4 percent for those who use social media for more than seven hours a day.
Meanwhile, when it came to smoking, 2 percent of those who said they did not use social media reported currently smoking cigarettes, compared to 9.2 percent who used social media between one and three hours a day. day.
This figure increased to 12.2 percent of smokers who used social media four to six hours a day and 15.7 percent of those who spent seven or more hours a day on weekdays on it.
The researchers, including those from the School of Public Health at Imperial College London, said there was “compelling evidence that vaping companies are using social media to market their products”.
Vaping companies are using social media sites like TikTok and YouTube to market addictive vaporizers to children.
They added: “Social media may be driving smoking and e-cigarette use through direct, targeted advertising and the tobacco industry’s use of paid influencers.”
The researchers said companies that own social media platforms have “substantial power” to modify exposure to material that promotes smoking and vaping if they choose or are forced to do so.
This comes after research earlier this week showed that children’s exposure to vape marketing is at an all-time high, with young people overwhelmingly opting for fruit and dessert flavored vapes.
Results from Action on Smoking and Health’s (Ash) annual survey found that children in Britain are increasingly aware of vaping marketing, including in shops and through social media sites such as TikTok and YouTube.
The 2024 survey of 2,587 children ages 11 to 17 found that 7.6 percent currently vape, the same proportion as last year, but up from 2.8 percent in 2017 and 0.8 percent in 2013.
E-cigarettes allow people to inhale nicotine in the form of vapor, which is produced by heating a liquid that typically contains propylene glycol, glycerin, flavorings and other chemicals.
Unlike traditional cigarettes, they do not contain tobacco nor do they produce tar or carbon, two of the most dangerous elements.
Although generally considered safer than smoking, the long-term effects of vaping remain a mystery.
Doctors have expressed fears that there could be a wave of lung disease, dental problems and even cancer in the coming decades in people who adopted the habit at a young age.
Last year, leading pediatricians also warned that children were being hospitalized with vaping-induced breathing difficulties amid a “disturbing” youth vaping epidemic.
NHS figures show a rise in the number of children admitted to hospital due to vaping.
Forty children and young people were admitted to hospitals in England last year due to “vaping-related disorders”, which could include lung damage or worsening asthma symptoms, up from 11 two years earlier, the NHS said.
MailOnline has previously exposed the predatory tactics of some sweet shops selling capes, including products that resemble popular sweet brans such as Skittles and Jolly Ranchers.
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, which causes 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.