TikTok and Instagram are behind the rise in the number of children vaping in the UK, a new report says.
Newer, disposable e-cigarettes are becoming increasingly popular with Gen-Zs, who are exposed to advertisements on such social media apps.
Costing around £5 each, they come in a wide variety of fruity flavors rather than an ash-like taste and smell, attracting a much younger crowd influenced by what they’ve seen while scrolling online.
According to the survey conducted for Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) and co-funded by the Ministry of Health, about 52% of under-18s who vape said disposable e-cigarettes were their favorite product.
This is a dramatic increase from the 7% who said the same in 2020.
Deborah Arnott, chief executive of ASH, said: “The disposable vapes that have become hugely popular in the past year are brightly colored pocket-sized products with sweet flavors and sweet names.
“They’re widely available for under fives – no wonder they’re appealing to kids.”
Vaping is a growing phenomenon and is being marketed as a ‘healthy alternative to tobacco’.
While it is illegal to sell the product to under-18s, social media has featured posts from teens showing off the new vapes and discussing the flavors.
They contain pink lemonade, strawberry banana and mango, and look much cooler than a pack of loose tobacco with a rotting lung on it.
Ms Arnott said more funding is needed to enforce the law against underage sales and action is needed on child-friendly packaging and labeling, and social media promotion.
“Online platforms don’t have to wait, they have to act now,” she emphasized.
“The deluge of glamorous promotion of vaping on social media, especially TikTok, is completely inappropriate and they should turn off the tap.”
About 2,613 children took part in the survey, conducted by YouGov in March.
Overall results showed that although ‘regular use of e-cigarettes has increased significantly’, most (84%) of 11 to 17 year olds have never tried e-cigarettes.
The vast majority of current vapers are also smokers or former smokers, so this is not a new experience for them.
But the data showed that the proportion of children in that age group currently vaping has increased from 4% in 2020 to 7% in 2022.
The percentage who have ever tried to vape has also increased, from 14% in 2020 to 16% in 2022.
For the first time this year, the survey asked young people about the awareness of the promotion of the product.
More than half (56%) of 11 to 17 year olds had encountered it, with the highest awareness among those who had ever swiped (72%).
TikTok was the most cited source – cited by 45% of children – followed by Instagram (31%) and Snapchat (22%).
Underage vapers were most likely to get their vape from retail outlets (47%), while 10% bought them online.
Ann McNeill, Professor of Tobacco Addiction at King’s College London and author of an upcoming government review of e-cigarette evidence, said: ‘The rise in vaping is worrying and we need to understand what’s behind this, such as packaging, accessibility, taste or addiction. .
“Our response must be proportionate, as smoking poses a much greater risk to the health of young people and there is good evidence that e-cigarettes can be an effective aid to smoking cessation.
“Governments must ensure that existing laws are enforced and indicate where regulations can be extended.
“However, this needs to happen in addition to a much faster decline in the number of young smoking novices and helping more smokers to quit.”
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