SHROPSHIRE Council has warned families about the risks of vaping for children, as reports suggest that e-cigarettes and vapes have become increasingly popular with teenagers across the country. 

Rachel Robinson, Shropshire Council’s director of public health explained that vaping is not for children and is not risk free.

She details that there is a lot more current research being done on adults that use vapes as a tool to ‘quit smoking’ than the research done on teenagers vaping.

She said: “In the UK it is illegal to sell nicotine containing vapes to anyone under the age of 18 years, or for adults to buy these products for them.

“There are concerns that the colourful packaging, designs and flavours of vapes are appealing to children, and that they have become too easy to buy online.

“Some of the products that can be bought in this way may also fall below the required safety standard and could have batteries or chargers that are hazardous to use. “  

OTHER NEWS:

Mrs Robinson added: “There are also national and local concerns that vapes can be used by organised criminal gangs and drug dealers to attract young people into criminal activity, or to get someone interested in misusing drugs.

“Parent and carers should be aware of this and observe and respond to any changes in their children and young people.

“This could include noticing a child receiving vapes as gifts or rewards, becoming more secretive, or a decline in their mental health due to pressures from criminals or peers.”

Shropshire Council is working with partners to better understand and respond to local concerns about underage vaping, and will be sharing more information as further research becomes available.

Cecilia Motley, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for public health, adult social care and communities said: “We know that e-cigarettes can be a helpful tool for adults who are trying to quit smoking, and we accept the research that the benefits outweigh the risks for this group.

Want to stay up to date with all the latest stories from Whitchurch and the surrounding area? Click here to sign up for our morning and daily email newsletters and click on the + for the 'Morning Briefing' and the 'Daily Catch-Up'.

“What we are worried about is the rise in children and young people who have never smoked, starting vaping for the first time. 

“This may be down to peer pressure or the novelty of the product itself, but we would encourage parents and carers to start talking with children about this issue to protect their health in the long term.

She added: “There are some useful resources on the Internet that present the facts in a way that is simple to understand.

“The Easter break from school is a good opportunity to learn about this issue together and start an open, positive and ongoing conversation in your family.”

If you have concerns about illegal sales of vapes to children and young people or about product safety of vapes, you can access Citizen’s Advice Consumer helpline.

If you have concerns about young people potentially being exploited, you can refer to Shropshire Council’s safeguarding information pages.