Greater than 100 million folks around the globe are utilizing e-cigarettes, in response to “alarming” estimates from the World Well being Organisation, with nearly 15 million youngsters believed to vape.
In its report – the well being physique’s first ever monitoring of using vapes and different digital smoking gadgets – the WHO mentioned that determine contains at the very least 86 million adults, principally from high-income nations.
However the report mentioned 14.7 million of the entire believed to make use of e-cigarettes had been reportedly youngsters aged between 13 and 15 years previous.
It added that vaping’s prevalence amongst teenagers globally was 7.2%. In distinction, whereas round 20.4 million adolescents reported smoking cigarettes, it had a prevalence of 5.1%.
File pic: PA
The report’s authors added that, based mostly on out there information for 63 nations – together with within the UK – charges of vaping for 13- to 15-year-olds are “on common 9 instances increased than the prevalence amongst adults”, including that “adolescents are usually utilizing the merchandise at a better charge than adults”.
In addition they mentioned: “Provided that no nation with a current school-based survey of this age group discovered present use of e-cigarettes at zero, it’s cheap to imagine the WHO estimate is an undercount.
“This discovering is no surprise contemplating that the business is aggressively focusing on youngsters and younger folks, together with via new digital channels which might be underregulated.”
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Etienne Krug, director of the WHO’s Well being Determinants, Promotion and Prevention division, mentioned in an announcement that “e-cigarettes are fuelling a brand new wave of nicotine dependancy”.
“They’re marketed as hurt discount,” she added, “however, in actuality, are hooking children on nicotine earlier and danger undermining many years of progress.”
WHO director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus additionally mentioned that whereas thousands and thousands are “stopping, or not taking on tobacco use… the tobacco business is preventing again with new nicotine merchandise, aggressively focusing on younger folks”.
He known as on governments to “act quicker and stronger in implementing confirmed tobacco management insurance policies”.
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The UK launched a ban on selling and supplying single-use vapes in June this yr, designed to sort out waste and the influence of vapes on the surroundings.
Whereas there isn’t a additional ban on vapes within the works, the federal government’s Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which is at present within the committee stage on the Home of Lords, contains powers to probably limit the packaging, advertising and marketing and flavours of e-cigarettes.
