Headteachers in North Yorkshire welcome plans to ban disposable vapes
Critics argue the ban won't discourage children from taking up the habit, but will instead push the market underground
Headteachers across North Yorkshire tell us they're pleased about plans to ban disposable vapes in England, Scotland, and Wales.
The Prime Minister - Rishi Sunak - announced the proposals yesterday - in a bid to crack down on their use amongst children.
Danny Wild is the Principle of Harrogate College: "The fact that young people are getting to us at 16 years old and it has become so normalised that they don’t even realise the setting they are in and are using it as a crutch for them really. You can find them in inappropriate places vaping and they didn’t even realise they were doing.
"A trend for me over the last 12 months has been the unconscious vaping, where we see young people have a vape in their hand, and perhaps are in a place that's appropriate to vape in, but will vape because they are totally unaware that they've got the product in their hand."
The new rules are due to come into effect from early next year.
It is already illegal to sell vapes to anyone under 18, but evidence shows disposable vapes - which are cheaper and sold in smaller, more colourful packaging than refillable ones - are driving the rise in youth vaping.
In 2021, only 7.7% of current vapers aged 11 to 17 used disposable vapes, but this increased to 52% in 2022 and 69% in 2023.
Headteachers and parents have expressed concerns over the rise in youth vaping, with data showing 7.6% of 11 to 17-year-olds now vape regularly or occasionally, up from 4.1% in 2020.
Last year, the Government also announced a ban on the sale of cigarettes to anyone born on or after January 1 2009.
This has angered former prime minister Liz Truss, who said on Sunday the move is "profoundly unconservative".
She said: "Banning the sale of tobacco products to anyone born in 2009 or later will create an absurd situation where adults enjoy different rights based on their birthdate.
"A Conservative Government should not be seeking to extend the nanny state.
"This will only give succour to those who wish to ban further choices of which they don't approve.
Mr Sunak has promised MPs a "free vote" on the plan, calling it a "matter of conscience" for parliamentarians.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer criticised the delay in abolishing disposable vapes but said "we will vote for it and so this measure will go through".
It's right we take action to stamp this out
Mr Sunak told broadcasters "some people will disagree with me", adding: "I don't think there's anything unconservative about caring about our children's health.
"But on smoking, there's been a long tradition in Parliament of these being free votes, which aren't party political, people will have their own held views on that, that's the same as it's been in the past.
"So I respect that some people will disagree with me on this but I think this is the right long-term thing for our country. Smoking causes one in four cancer deaths. It's responsible for a hospital admission every minute.
"And if we don't do something about it, hundreds of thousands of people will die in the coming years and I think that we do have a chance to do something about it."
Mr Sunak said the rise in vaping among children is worrying, adding: "Children shouldn't be vaping, we don't want them to get addicted, we still don't understand the full long-term health impacts of vaping. So it is right we take strong action to stamp this out."