Newham Council welcomes the government announcing plans to ban disposable vapes. This is a move we have been calling for, echoing the Local Government Association’s position.
We have previously highlighted growing evidence which suggests the devices have an increasing appeal amongst children. The announcement from Number 10 supports that, as the proposals are aimed at cracking down on their use among children.
Councillor Neil Wilson, Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care and Councillor Amar Virdee, Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Crime said: “The government has finally listened to the concerns of health professionals, parents and children themselves and announced long-awaited plans for a ban on disposable vapes. This is something we as a Council have been calling for, backing the Local Government Association’s position.
“This will send out a clear message to young people, that they simply should not be vaping. There has been mixed messaging around this, with the brightly coloured packaging and flavours which are targeting a younger audience. I’m therefore pleased that the government is considering the new powers that would restrict vape flavours, and change packaging to make them less appealing to children.
“While this move will benefit children’s physical and mental health, it will also benefit the environment, prevent hazards in our bin lorries, ease pressure on our Trading Standards’ teams and avoid issues with recycling at our centres.”
As part of our work around youth vaping, we recently brought together Catch22 and Change Grow Live to work with young people at Links Media College to create a media project tackling misinformation on youth vaping, sharing their experiences and highlighting the potential risks to young people. The youth vaping media projects were presented during a celebratory sharing day at Catch-22 and West Ham MP, Lyn Brown attended. Following insights from young people during the sharing day, Lyn has invited young people from Links Media College to Parliament to see the relevant legislation. This highlights our ongoing efforts to inform and inspire on the matter.
Dame Rachel de Souza, the Children's Commissioner for England, said: "When I asked children a couple of years ago about all aspects of their health and wellbeing, I was shocked and concerned to hear from children as young as 12 who told me that vaping was normalised among their peers - even on school premises.
"This announcement will help tackle that issue and I know that many children and parents will be extremely relieved."
For more information and advice about young people and vaping in Newham, visit the Well Newham website.