Norfolk County Council vows to crack down on the sale of illegal vapes
They also want a ban on vapes that appeal to children
Last updated 12th Sep 2023
Norfolk County Council's calling for a ban on vapes that appeal to children and cracks down on illegal sales
Councillors at Norfolk County Council are supporting a call from England’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor Sir Chris Whitty, to do more to reduce vaping among children and young people.
Bill Borrett, Cabinet Member for Public Health, said: “It is illegal to sell vapes to under 18s, but I am particularly concerned that young people are still taking up vaping believing it to be harmless.
"Unlike cigarettes some of the marketing and packaging is directly targeted at young people. I fully support the views of Professor Sir Chris Whitty that marketing vaping, an addictive product, to children is utterly unacceptable.”
Public Health in Norfolk says vaping is less harmful than smoking, but not completely risk-free.
They also contain Nicotine, which is an addictive substance.
To make sure children and young people have the information they need to make healthy, informed choices, Norfolk County Council says it's developing a vaping toolkit for schools, along with a vaping campaign, which they'll launch in the new school year.
Norfolk County Council Trading Standards says it's also cracking down on the sale of illegal e-cigarettes, which can often end up in the hands of children, having seized 13,861 illegal e-cigarettes so far in 2023 (01 Jan – 30 Aug), a sharp increase on 2022.