HEALTH RISK: Thousands of Scots schoolkids feared to be hooked on vapes with more nicotine than two packs of cigarettes
THOUSANDS of children are hooked on colourful vapes packed with more nicotine than two packs of cigarettes, experts fear.
Anti-smoking charity ASH Scotland says schoolkids are risking their health puffing on the £5 disposable e-cigs.
Each contains around 600 drags — the equivalent of smoking 45 ciggies.
Pupils as young as six have been caught with the gadgets in classrooms — with use among kids up by nearly 4,000 per cent in four years.
An estimated 13.6million disposable vapes are bought in Scotland annually.
ASH Scotland chief executive Sheila Duffy said: “The huge upsurge of children using disposable vapes is alarming as these products are not harmless and are age-restricted for good reason.
“Nicotine is highly addictive and many vapes include toxic chemicals that have not been safety tested. This is especially worrying for children as their lungs are still growing.
“Research also indicates young people experimenting with vapes are at a higher risk of using tobacco products, a prospect we should all want our children to avoid.”
Some 169million pen-sized vapes a year are imported to the UK for sale in shops.
ElfBar, Geek Bar, Aroma King and Elux are among the most popular brands and cost between a fiver and £8.
The colourful tubes come in a range of flavours including strawberry, cola, bubblegum and candy floss.
They are designed to last just three days — with two thrown away every second.
It is illegal to sell them to under-18s, with adults issued £200 fines for flouting rules.
Teacher Tom Bennett, chairman of a Department for Education task force aimed at stamping out unruly behaviour, said: “Vaping is now as big an issue in schools as cigarettes were.
“Part of it is symbolic — it’s a signal of what they believe to be maturity, possibly even rebellion, and as such it presents the same dilemmas.
“Kids are becoming addicted to both the practice and the chemicals involved.
“It’s a huge health hazard, and presents an enormous distraction to children when they should be socialising, learning and growing.”
Teachers have said kids buy vapes in shops, are supplied them by older children and even pick them up after finding them in the street.
According to ASH Scotland data, more than 15 per cent of 11 to 17-year-olds have tried e-cigs. Councils say nearly 450 were seized in Clackmannanshire, Dundee, East Dunbartonshire, Fife, Inverclyde and South Ayrshire alone in 2021-22 — up 3,836 per cent from just nine four years ago.
The UK Vaping Industry Association has called for tighter regulation and fines of up to £10,000 for selling vapes to children.
Director general John Dunne said: “If you don’t want kids using these products, then you have to stop the supply.”
Vapes are filled with an oil made by combining nicotine with glycerine. Their heating element turns it into an aerosol which is breathed directly into the lungs.
Scientists say use significantly increases the risk of lung diseases like asthma, bronchitis and emphysema and can alter the chemistry in young brains which are still developing.
King’s College London compared 400 UK Department for Health studies and found the number of kids using e-cigs has rocketed 50 per cent since 2018.
Mountains of discarded vapes are also piling up in landfill, with hazardous chemicals leaking into surrounding land and waterways.
Keep Scotland Beautiful’s Heather McLaughlin said: “Vapes are difficult to recycle.”
The Scottish Government held a consultation over potential curbs on vape sales earlier this year. A spokesman said: “We are very concerned by reports of children obtaining e-cigarettes.
“The findings from our consultation will be used to inform the refreshed Tobacco Action Plan, due to be published in 2023.”
Chris Taylor – The Scottish Sun – 2022-10-15.
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