The number of young women in the UK who smoke e-cigarettes daily has tripled in just a year, even more than men – Photo: Getty Images
Data from the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that one in 15 women aged 16 to 24 (6.7%) will smoke e-cigarettes daily by 2022. Meanwhile, in 2021 the figure is only 1.9%.
The result is similar to a survey of school-age children conducted by the National Health Service (NHS) in 2022, which found that more than a fifth of 15-year-old girls used e-cigarettes, apart from male friends.
According to the ONS, this is due to the increasing presence of disposable vapes, also known as disposable pods, in recent years.
These types of products account for the majority of vape sales, with diverse, “attractive” flavors such as bubblegum and cool watermelon, which critics say will make them more attractive to young people.
Many countries have recently implemented measures to restrict the sale of these types of vapes.
In France, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said on September 3 that the government would soon launch a national plan to ban disposable e-cigarettes.
Australia has banned single-use vapes, while New Zealand has banned most disposable vapes and introduced other measures to limit sales to young people.
Germany has banned flavored e-cigarettes, while Ireland is consulting on banning single-use vapes.
Statistics show that in Britain, young women are now using e-cigarettes more than young men. The proportion of young women who vaped “occasionally” also increased, rising from 7.1% in 2021 to 12.2% last year, while the figure for men was only 8.7%.
In June, Amanda Pritchard, chief executive of NHS England, said 40 children were likely to be admitted to hospital in 2022 due to “vaping-related disorders”, including lung damage and worsening asthma symptoms. In 2021 this number is only 11 children.
Earlier, in May, even Prime Minister Rishi Sunak shared on ITV’s This Morning program that he was concerned about the impact of vape marketing on his two young daughters.
“We’re looking at how we can tighten up the rules in terms of marketing, promotion and format. It seems like they’re targeted at kids, which is ridiculous. I don’t want my kids exposed to any of this stuff.” Be seduced.” ” Mr Sunak said.
Just over the weekend, the government announced plans to close a legal loophole that allows retailers and marketing companies to give away free vape samples to people under 18. Before being banned, vaping was not considered a drug and was not on the list of prohibited free distribution for cigarettes.
(tagstotranslate)electronic cigarette
