NHS Figures Show Nearly 1 in 10 Children Now Vape in England

A festival-goer is seen vaping at Reading Festival in Reading, west of London, on Aug. 27, 2021. Daniel Leal/AFP via Getty Images

Leading doctors have warned that generations of children could become hooked on nicotine after new figures show an increasing number of teenagers are being tempted to smoke cheap sweet-flavoured e-cigarettes, even though their long-term effects are still unknown.

In a report released on Tuesday, new figures from a survey conducted for NHS Digital found that 9 percent of 11- to 15-year-olds in England now regularly use e-cigarettes, a rise from 6 percent in 2018.

The highest use trend was among girls aged 15, which rose from 10 percent in 2018 to 21 percent last year.

Rise

Over 9,000 pupils in England were surveyed across secondary schools, mostly aged 11 to 15, for the “Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use among Young People in England 2021” report.

Professor Andrew Bush, director of Imperial Centre for Paediatrics and Child Health and a consultant paediatric chest physician at Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals, told The Epoch Times by email: “We know the acute effects of vaping are far more than those for cigarettes; so how can we possibly be reassured about the long-term effects? The UK is out of step with virtually all the rest of the world I am afraid.”

Mitchell Baker who works at the Vapour Place, a vaping shop in Bedminster, exhales vapour produced by an e-cigarette in Bristol, England, on Dec. 30, 2016. Matt Cardy/Getty Images

Dr. Mike McKean, vice president of policy at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH), said, “As a paediatrician I am deeply disturbed by the rise of children and young people picking up e-cigarettes.”

RCPCH is the professional body for paediatricians in the United Kingdom.

“E-cigarettes remain a relatively new product and their long-term effects are still unknown,” said McKean.

A study from the European Academy of Paediatrics said that e-cigarettes include numerous unregulated chemicals, including known carcinogens, whose acute and long-term toxicities are unknown.

McKean added that children are being “targeted by e-cigarette companies with bright packaging, exotic flavours and enticing names” and without action “we run the risk of having generations of children addicted to nicotine.”

“Disposable e-cigarettes are growing in popularity amongst children and young people and can be accessed easily in newsagents and sweet shops. Nowadays there is a vape shop on almost every high street,” he said.

“These companies are simply interested in ‘hooking’ children and young people to make a profit off them, there is absolutely no thought or care about their health and wellbeing,” added McKean.

A woman smokes a cigarette in the spring sunshine as pandemic lockdown restrictions ease in Manchester's Northern Quarter in the United Kingdom on April 23, 2021. Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

The charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) found that children were increasingly drawn to cheap disposable e-cigarettes which come in candy, alcoholic drink, energy drink, soft drink flavours, and more.

Another study by ASH, released in July, found that the young are influenced by social media sites such as TikTok and Instagram.

In response, TikTok said that “regardless of a user’s age, we strictly prohibit content that depicts or promotes the sale, trade, or offer of tobacco, including vaping products, and we will remove any content found to be violating our community guidelines.”

Decline

While the mass survey found that vaping had increased, drug use and smoking are reportedly in decline among young people.

Eighteen percent of pupils reported having ever taken drugs, a decline from 24 percent in 2018. And the number of pupils reporting that they smoke cigarettes decreased to 3 percent, a decline from 5 percent in 2018.

Deborah Arnott, chief executive of ASH, said, “While further action on vaping is needed, it is still only a small minority of children vaping and it is encouraging to see that the NHS Digital survey finds youth smoking has continued to decline, as smoking is far more harmful than vaping.”

PA Media contributed to this report.