News release published on behalf of ASH Scotland
Leading Scottish respiratory paediatricians, health charity ASH Scotland and Ayrshire & Arran’s Youth Vaping Taskforce urging the House of Lords to approve strong measures proposed in the UK Government’s Tobacco and Vapes Bill to enable regulatory action to halt the country’s youth nicotine addiction epidemic.
Ahead of the Second Reading of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill in the House of Lords today (Wednesday 23 April 2025), the health advocates and clinicians are expressing their backing for proposals to restrict the advertising and promotions of e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches, but are calling for further regulations to restrict flavours, colours, descriptors and branding on device designs and packaging to reduce the attractiveness of addictive and health harming recreational nicotine products to children.
Such restrictions can be introduced through regulations that the UK Government is proposing to consult on should the Bill pass and achieve Royal Assent.
The World Health Organisation has called on governments to act urgently to protect children from harms caused by vaping, following mounting evidence of damage to health, and research consistently showing that young people who use vapes are at up to three times greater risk of starting to smoke.
In making their call, the campaigners are voicing resolute support for Scotland’s precautionary approach on e-cigarettes, which endorses the nation’s Quit Your Way smoking cessation services and positively recommends only medically licensed quit smoking aids such as Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) that have the strongest evidence base for efficacy and are tested and monitored, quality-controlled and medicinally supervised as needed.
No e-cigarettes have been licensed to be a quit smoking aid by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in the UK and the World Health Organization’s treatment guidelines for tobacco cessation in adults do not include e-cigarettes as current evidence is not strong enough to recommend vapes as a stop smoking aid.
Dr Jonathan Coutts, consultant neonatal and respiratory paediatrician at the Royal Hospital for Children, Glasgow, said: “We have all seen that there has been an increase in vaping in young people. This increase may result in a re-normalisation of smoking which has been declining for years. Any reversal in the trend to reduce nicotine addiction would be catastrophic. Vaping should never be promoted as a safe alternative to smoking.”
Dr Ross Langley, a paediatric respiratory consultant at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, said: “Youth vaping and nicotine addiction is a real and present danger to future lung health and mental wellbeing of a generation. The detrimental effects of smoking took decades to become apparent; therefore, it is imperative that we act now to address the issues of access, availability and marketing of vaping devices to prevent children being exposed to harmful chemicals that can lead to direct lung damage and addiction.”
Sheila Duffy, Chief Executive of ASH Scotland said: “Tobacco industry promotions have lured children into starting to use their addictive, harmful products for decades and the same is now happening with vapes and nicotine pouches. With nicotine addiction increasing amongst our young people, robust measures are essential to restrict the advertising and promotions of nicotine pouches and vapes to reduce their visibility and availability to protect the health of children now and of future generations.
“These recreational nicotine products are not on a par with NRT, which is available on prescription, and we advocate that adults looking for support to quit smoking should contact NHS Scotland’s Quit Your Way service for free person-centred specialist advice delivered by qualified health professionals.”
Dr Emily Broadis, Consultant in Public Health Medicine for NHS Ayrshire & Arran, on behalf of Ayrshire and Arran’s Youth Vaping Taskforce said: “Youth vaping presents significant health risks, exposing our young people to nicotine addiction, toxic chemicals and respiratory harms.
“The appealing flavours, marketing and easy access are all contributing to more young people vaping than ever before. Children who vape are more likely to transition to smoking traditional cigarettes which risks undoing the efforts that have been made over the last few decades to prevent smoking related harms. Urgent action is needed through stronger regulation to protect our young people.”