Almost a fifth of teens have tried vaping this year
A Dorset councillor says introducing the Tobacco and Vapes Bill "is now a matter of urgency" to protect the health of children
Nearly one in five teenagers across Dorset have admitted to vaping this year, according to new YouGov figures.
Experts say the rise in youth vaping since the pandemic has stabilised in 2024, but still isn’t dropping.
Almost one million young people across the UK said they had vaped at least once in the last eight months.
Gill Taylor is Dorset Council's Cabinet member for Health and Housing, she says introducing the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which would impose restrictions on vapes, "is now a matter of urgency" to protect the health of children.
Cllr Taylor told us: “If we can understand the demographics of the people who are smoking, then there's a chance we could start doing specific targeting for those groups to try and stop them or make them far more aware.
“You're never going to stop a young person from smoking a vape because you say, ‘it's bad for you’, you've got to think of a far more subtle way.”
A gateway drug
Cllr Taylor, along with many other experts, have raised concerns that vape companies have had "free reign" to target youngsters.
She said: "Cheap, accessible vapes, promoted on every street corner and packaged and labelled like sweets or toys are totally inappropriate.
“The worrying thing is that the vast majority of vapes contain nicotine and because they’re addictive and perceived to be cool, it could act as a gateway drug for children to jump to harder drugs.”
Disposable vapes remain the most popular choice of e-cigarettes among young people, although the proportion of children using them fell to 54% in 2024 from 69% last year.
Of the 11 to 17-year-olds who currently vape, nearly half say they buy their e-cigarettes from shops, which is illegal.
Cllr Taylor said: “There are young people who are purchasing their own vapes but there's also people purchasing for them.”
“We need to remember that we are all role models for our children, so it’s important that we don't vape or smoke in front of them or go and get and drunk every night because that's what your youngsters will think is the right thing to do.”
The proposed Tobacco and Vapes Bill will introduce measures to reduce the appeal of vaping to young people, such as restricting the flavours, packaging and display of e-cigarettes.