The dramatic rise in vape use among young people in the UK has caused serious concern among health experts. New research reports that more than a million people in England have taken up e-cigarettes even though they have never smoked regularly – a seven-fold increase in three years – a trend that has prompted health experts to call for stricter regulation.Youth Vaping
According to data published in the journal The Lancet Public Health, as of 2021, the rate of vape use among adults who are not regular smokers remains steady at about one in every two hundred, totaling about 133,000 adults. However, by 2024, the rate climbs dramatically to one in twenty-eight, with the total number of e-cigarette users skyrocketing to about 1,006,000 people.Youth Vaping
In addition, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) also shows that there are now 5.1 million e-cigarette users in the UK in the 16-and-over age group, which is one-tenth of the total population in that age group. Particularly noteworthy is that the highest rate of vape use is among teenagers aged 16 to 24, at 15.8%.
Health experts have warned of the alarming rise in the popularity of e-cigarettes among young people and never-smokers, according to Professor Nick Hopkinson, President of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), and Professor Sanjay Agrawal, Invited Consultant at the Royal College of Physicians, who emphasized the need for an“urgent response”to the rising use of e-cigarettes among young people and never-smokers. Professor Sanjay Agrawal, Invited Advisor to the Royal College of Physicians, also emphasized the need for an“urgent response”to the rise in e-cigarette use among young people and never-smokers, stating that while e-cigarettes have helped some adults to quit smoking and are less harmful than traditional cigarettes, they are not completely risk-free, especially for children, and should not be allowed to become a new A new public health threat.Youth Vaping
There has been some action on the part of the government with plans to ban the sale of disposable e-cigarettes, but researchers believe that this may not be enough to tackle the problem comprehensively as some brands have moved to promote reusable products.UCL researchers suggest that there should be greater regulation of the appearance, packaging and marketing of vapes in order to make them less appealing to minors.
Professor Jamie Brown from UCL’s Institute of Epidemiology and Healthcare Research noted that although overall e-cigarette use appears to be leveling off from 2023, steps need to be taken to reduce the use of e-cigarettes among young people who have never smoked before, and to ensure that it does not discourage smokers who need to quit from using vapes as an aid.
The study shows that between 2016 and 2024, the proportion of e-cigarette users among unregulated smokers has increased significantly since 2021, highlighting the rapid growth in vapes use among the younger population. This phenomenon reminds policymakers to carefully weigh all factors and develop policy measures that do not discourage smoking cessation but are effective in protecting public health.
In summary, as the problem of e-cigarette use among adolescents becomes more and more serious, the formulation of relevant policies and measures is particularly urgent. Finding a balance between helping adult smokers quit and protecting the health of minors will be an important direction for future vapen policymaking. Ongoing research and monitoring will help to gain a deeper understanding of the potential impact of this trend on public health and provide policymakers with a scientific basis for effective interventions.
As vaping industry practitioners, we do not want minors to smoke; we hope vapes can reduce the harm of traditional cigarettes and ease smokers’ suffering.If you want to learn more about e-cigarettes, news, and information, please visit our website: https://www.puffvapes.com/
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