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The government is reportedly set to ban vaping in playgrounds, hospital grounds and near schools in a crackdown on e-cigarettes aimed at preventing children from taking up the habit.
In a move believed to be favoured by the country’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty, Health Secretary Wes Streeting is said to be considering limiting the use of e-cigarettes outdoors in England, with restrictions set to be included in the tobacco and vapes bill due to be presented to parliament in the upcoming weeks.
Mr Whitty is thought to have pushed for pub gardens to be included in the ban. While no final decision has been made, The Times reported it is unlikely this move will be made following the backlash over suggestions of an outdoor hospitality ban in August.
The reported proposals are part of efforts to reduce the number of preventable deaths linked to tobacco use.
A new study published in Lancet Public Health this week suggested the number of people vaping in England who have never regularly smoked has increased sharply to one million since 2021, representing a sevenfold increase in only three years.
This increase was largely driven by young adults, with an estimated one in seven 18 to 24-year-olds (14 per cent) who never regularly smoked now using e-cigarettes.
Prof Nick Hopkinson, a respiratory physician and chair of Action on Smoking and Health, said: “Vaping has helped millions of adults quit smoking and is much less harmful than smoking. However, it is not risk-free and high levels of use among young people and growing use among never-smokers is a concern.”
Prof Sanjay Agrawal, the Royal College of Physicians’ special adviser on tobacco, called for “urgent action” to combat the surge in vaping among young people as well as those who have never smoked.
He said: “While e-cigarettes remain a valuable tool for helping smokers quit, it is essential that their use doesn’t create new public health risks, particularly among children.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We do not comment on leaks. Whilst vapes can be an effective tool to help adult smokers quit, children should never vape.
“The tobacco and vapes bill will bring about definitive and positive change to stop future generations from becoming hooked on nicotine and stop vapes and other nicotine products from being deliberately branded to target children.”