Councillors for North Yorkshire’s children and young people’s scrutiny committee have met to hear the annual health and wellbeing survey results. Data was collected from 17,000 pupils on a range of topics, including vaping.
The survey concluded that one in three children aged 13 to 15 had “at least tried vaping”, and “nine per cent said they used them regularly.”
Cigarette smoking was shown to be continuing to decrease. However, councillors were worried by data showing primary school children are vaping.
Five per cent of ten and 11-year-old students reported that they had at least tried vaping.
In June, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) urged the government to ban disposable e-cigarettes due to their potential danger to children.
Speaking at the time, Dr Mike McKean, RCPCH VP for policy and paediatric respiratory consultant, said, “Youth vaping is fast becoming an epidemic among children, and I fear that if action is not taken, we will find ourselves sleepwalking into a crisis.”
Local news outlet Hambleton Today reported that Tom Cavell Taylor, a school governor, told the meeting, “I don’t think young people appreciate the dangers of vaping.
“Vaping was seen as a better alternative to smoking, but there is a bit of a health timebomb going on with vaping, and I don’t think that message is fully appreciated with young people.”
Kristy Poskitt, a youth worker and councillor, added that it was “not unusual for year five and six pupils to be vaping.”
Kristy commented, “What I’m really concerned with is how fast the public health is getting out. I have conversations daily with young people that vape that have no clue that it is in any way dangerous.
“The parents see it as a much better, they taste and smell nice, they’re trendy, you’re not going to have that first hacking experience of cigarettes.
“It’s a huge explosion and it’s one of my biggest concerns with young people.”
During the meeting, councillors called for the government to take steps to raise awareness of the dangers of vaping and regulate marketing practices in vaping shop windows, which they say, target children.
Stuart Carlton, director of children and young people services for North Yorkshire County Council, said, “I would just ban them. I think they should only be available on prescription as part of a smoking reduction programme to adults only. That’s how you get them out of the system.
“Some of the things that are giving us the most concern aren’t the ones sold in shops, it’s the illegal market. These are black market vapes with cannabinoid additions which are causing horrendous incidents to children who experiment. You can do something about vaping, but then miss the thing that’s doing to most damage.”