Approximately 20% of 11-17 year olds have tried vaping, an estimated 1.1 million children. 85% of teachers say that it is disrupting classrooms, and 76% of secondary schools report pupils vaping on a daily or weekly basis. Public health academics have now concluded that we are facing persistently high youth vaping rates. An effective solution is needed to reverse this concerning trend.
There is a place for vapes as a tool to help adult smokers quit, while cutting out underage use. As Professor Chris Whitty, England’s Chief Medical Officer, put it: “We should continue to encourage smokers to swap to vaping as the lesser risk, while preventing marketing and sale of vapes to children.”
It is already illegal to sell vaping products to minors. However, whether through friends, online, or retailers operating illegally, access is all too easy — as the latest Action on Smoking and Health youth vaping report illustrates. Proxy purchasers can buy a vape on someone else’s behalf, or vapes can be bought directly from sellers who fail to enforce age ID verifications. Unfortunately, the scale of the problem shows that measures currently in place to prevent children from obtaining vapes simply aren't working.
An effective solution needs to combat illegal sales and proxy purchasing, and that can be achieved by age-verifying the user at point of use, not just at point of sale. We need stronger laws in place to prevent access even if a child gets their hands on a vape, meaning that if the user is under 18 and cannot be age verified as an adult, the vape will simply not unlock.
How better laws can stop underage vaping
The Government is currently passing the Tobacco and Vapes Bill through Parliament in an attempt to address the issue of underage vaping, including a range of powers for the Health Secretary to create regulations on flavours and advertising, which are designed to reduce the appeal of vapes to children.
Despite good intentions, there are holes in the Bill which need to be plugged if it is to meet the Government’s objectives and curb underage vaping.
Reducing the appeal of vapes to children alone will not prevent access, but age-gating at the point of use can. There is now technology available which can lock vapes unless the user has verified their age through digital ID, similar to how the Online Safety Act requires online users to verify they are over 18 before accessing age-restricted content like pornography.
Unlike the Online Safety Act, this age verification process can’t be circumvented through a VPN and would mean that - no matter how a child gets hold of a vape - they won’t be able to use it.
To give the Government the power to require vaping manufacturers to include age-gating technology in their products, the Tobacco and Vapes Bill needs additional changes. By creating powers to regulate the technologies included in vapes, including age verification, the Government can future-proof the bill to protect children and keep vapes to their original use as a stop smoking tool for adults.
The recent ban on disposable vapes has demonstrated how vape manufacturers can circumvent regulations if the Government doesn’t have sufficient power to close loopholes. The proposed changes to the Bill would give the Government the ability to go further over time, ensuring that they can keep pace with the innovations vaping manufacturers develop to avoid being captured by the rules.