Vape flavours and packaging that are 'attractive' to children could be banned under reforms

Vapes will be sold in plain packaging, and enticing flavour descriptions will be banned under a proposal to stop e-cigarettes being marketed to children.

Health leaders have launched a UK-wide consultation that also proposes that vapes should only come in three colours: white, black or grey.

Flavours will also be restricted to simple descriptions, such as "apple", and names that are linked to sweets, desserts and alcohol will be banned.

The Department of Health and Social Care's consultation also proposed that vapes should be kept out of view in shops.

It also includes plans for restrictions on text colour, imagery, branding and standardised product information on vape packaging.

Health Secretary James Murray said the 12-week consultation was aimed at making vaping less attractive to children and young people to ensure they "don't get drawn into vaping in the first place".

He said: "Because I think we all know that the way that some of the vaping products are promoted - the very colourful packaging and names that might be aimed at children and young people - that's wrong because we want to make sure that, as well as being a smoke-free generation, we want children and young people not to start vaping in the first place.

"Vaping plays a role for adults when they're coming off smoking, but we want to make sure children and young people don't start it in the first place. So that's what this consultation is about."

Figures suggest that almost one in five (19%) of 11 to 17-year-olds in Britain have tried vaping, according to a poll conducted on behalf of the charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH).

Professor Steve Turner, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said: "For those of us working with children every day, it is clear that only strong and meaningful regulation will protect them from the harms associated with nicotine addiction."

ASH chief executive Hazel Cheeseman said: "Protecting children from harmful vape marketing is the right thing to do.

"Attractive, colourful branding and images have driven the appeal of vapes to children leading to an increase in use."

The move follows the success of standardised packaging for cigarettes since 2017, officials said.

The consultation also proposes inserts for cigarette packs telling smokers where to get help to quit and plans to make all tobacco products - including cigarette rolling paper and cigars - come in plain packaging.

The proposal also includes plans to remove exemptions which allow duty-free shops and airports to display tobacco products, meaning cigarettes and other tobacco products will be restricted from view in these settings.

Consultation backed

The consultation has already gained support from UK health leaders.

Scotland's public health minister Maree Todd said: "We know that colourful packaging and displays are used as an enticement to children and young people, which is why we are taking action and consulting on options to address this issue."

Wales deputy minister for preventative and public health, Nerys Evans, said: "Vapes are being deliberately designed and marketed to appeal to children - with bright colours, cartoon branding and sweet-sounding flavour names that have no place in products containing addictive nicotine."

Also commenting on the consultation, Northern Ireland health minister Mike Nesbitt said: "Restricting the visibility of these products will lessen their appeal, which in turn will reduce youth vaping and prevent future generations from nicotine addiction."

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Research published last year concluded that adults are still likely to buy e-cigarettes sold in plain packs, though children showed less interest in vapes in standardised packaging.

The study, led by UCL and King's College London researchers, involved 2,770 children and young people aged 11 to 18 and just under 4,000 adults.

They were shown vape packs, and children were asked if they felt their peers would be interested in trying the product, while adults were asked if they themselves would be interested in trying it.

Among the children and young people questioned, more than half (53%) said their peers would be interested in trying vapes in their usual packaging, the study published in the Lancet Regional Health Europe found.

When they were shown vapes in standardised packs with usual flavour descriptions, this dropped to 38%

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