The UK government has unveiled plans to crack down on vaping aimed at children, including introducing plain packaging and restricting the colours of devices to white, black or grey. The proposals, outlined by the Department of Health and Social Care, would also require vapes to be kept out of sight in shops and would ban flavour descriptions that reference sweets, desserts or alcohol, allowing only simple names such as "apple".
Health secretary James Murray said the government was launching a 12-week consultation about "our plans to make vaping less attractive for children and young people". He added: "We all know that the way that some of the vaping products are promoted – the very colourful packaging and names that might be aimed at children and young people. That's wrong because we want to make sure that, as well as being a smoke-free generation, we want children and young people not to start vaping in the first place."
The move follows a poll conducted on behalf of the charity Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) which found that nearly one in five (19%) 11-17-year-olds in Britain have tried vaping. Prof Steve Turner, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, welcomed the consultation, saying: "For those of us working with children every day, it is clear that only strong and meaningful regulation will protect them from the harms associated with nicotine addiction." Hazel Cheeseman, chief executive of Ash, said: "Protecting children from harmful vape marketing is the right thing to do. Attractive, colourful branding and images have driven the appeal of vapes to children leading to an increase in use."
The Department of Health said the consultation also includes plans for white packaging for vapes with restrictions on text colour, imagery, branding and standardised product information, following the success of standardised cigarette packaging since 2017. Proposals for tobacco products include inserts in cigarette packs telling smokers where to get help to quit, and the removal of exemptions that allow duty-free shops and airports to display tobacco products.
Cheeseman noted the need for balance: "There is a careful balance to strike with regulations. While vapes are not harm free, they are significantly less harmful than smoking and vapes have helped millions of people successfully stop smoking in recent years." Research published last year in the Lancet Regional Health Europe, led by UCL and King's College London, found that among 11-18-year-olds, interest in trying vapes fell from 53% with usual packaging to 38% with standardised packs, while adult interest remained unchanged.
