Young vapers in Salford say the government’s decision to ban disposable vapes won’t stop them from vaping.
The crackdown announced by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday follows a nine-fold increase in the number of 11-17-year-olds using vapes in the past two years.
The vapes can only be sold to over 18s, but children and young people are still getting their hands on them.
Joe Brown, 19, at Salford Quays, said: “The ban won’t stop me vaping, I’ll just buy them online or I’ll get a refillable one.
“The fact they are banning them will put them on the black market, people will still ship them in and they will be putting worse stuff in their body. At least the corner shop is regulated.”
Tom Bentley, 19, also at the Quays, said vapes should be banned to stop young people picking up the habit. But will a ban stop him from vaping? “I hope so but probably not,” he admitted.
The Government’s Health and Social Care Secretary Victoria Atkins said the health advice was clear that vapes should only ever be used as a tool to quit smoking.
She said: “But we are committed to doing more to protect our children from illicit underage vaping, and by banning disposable vapes we’re preventing children from becoming hooked for life.”
Children vaping has become an increasing concern and its feared the health effects could cause serious problems for their future, especially with the unknown chemicals going into illicit and non-regulated products.
But Joe Brown claimed a ban would make this worse. He said: “You can’t ban something that’s been established for so many years, it will feed criminals and become unsafe. They’ll be smoking chemically infused stuff.
“We need to make it as healthy as it can be for smoking.”
The Prime Minister also announced that he intends to ban anyone born after May 1 2009 from ever buying cigarettes.
Tom Bentley added: “The flavour of vaping is what brings the appeal rather than smoking.
“Smoking is not as much of an issue as vaping.”
A raid by Greater Manchester Police in Salford recently seized over £400,000 worth of illicit vaping products, some with up to 11 times the legal amount of nicotine in them.
Councillor Barbara Bentham who is a lead member for environment and community said in a statement at the time: “Some producers are cynically and deliberately designing vapes to appeal to children and it’s horrifying to find a local business buying into that exploitation.”
A short interview with a local business owner on the subject can be found here –
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