'My 13-year-old grandson's class all have vape access' -Interviewing Chichester about the Disposable vape ban

Disposable vapes will be banned in the UK as part of government plans to tackle the rise in youth vaping and protect children’s health. Prime Minister has announced it on Monday, January 29 at a visit to a school.

The measure comes as part of the government’s response to its consultation on smoking and vaping, which was launched in October last year. Recent figures show the number of children using vapes in the past 3 years has tripled. Use among younger children is also rising, with 9% of 11 to 15-year-olds now using vapes.

The long-term health impacts of vaping are unknown and the nicotine contained within them can be very addictive, with withdrawal sometimes causing anxiety, trouble concentrating and headaches. While vaping can play a role in helping adult smokers to quit, children should never vape.

We went out to the streets of Chichester to ask the public what they thought of the ban. Bess said: “I think that we need to be more mindful of the waste that we're creating with disposable vapes. Vaping seems to be really popular and fashionable, particularly with young people such as my niece and I don't like it at all. It’s a waste of money and a vice that doesn’t need to be part of our society.”

Carol said: “My grandson is 13 and he said that in school, you can get them anywhere.He said the kids use them, so they must be widely available somehow. It’s tragic. As a grandmother, it's frightening because I feel like they deliberately appeal to children, their marketing is specifically to get to that audience. It's just sad.”

And finally, Callum said: “When you go past shops and you see all this colourful packaging, and all these things, you feel like it's targeted towards you. There are so many ways that people under the age of 18 can get them now and it gets them addicted quickly. That's how they make their money, so I do agree with the disposable vapes being banned.”