Disposable vapes to be banned over concerns of sharp increase in children’s use
Rishi Sunak has announced plans to ban disposable vapes in a bid to crack down on their use among children.
The prime minister is also set to unveil new powers to restrict vape flavours as a means to make them less appealing to children.
The Scotland and Wales governments will also ban single-use vapes.
The proposed ban, which will form part of legislation that has to be approved by parliament, comes amid concern at the rise of vaping among children, with teachers reporting pupils showing signs of nicotine dependency in the classroom.
The prime minister will also make it illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009 as part of his pledge to create a smoke-free generation, while vaping alternatives such as nicotine pouches will also be outlawed.
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Pupils ‘can’t last a lesson’ without a vape
Announcing the move ahead of a visit to a school on Monday, Mr Sunak said: “As any parent or teacher knows, one of the most worrying trends at the moment is the rise in vaping among children, and so we must act before it becomes endemic.
“The long-term impacts of vaping are unknown and the nicotine within them can be highly addictive, so while vaping can be a useful tool to help smokers quit, marketing vapes to children is not acceptable.
“That is why I am taking bold action to ban disposable vapes – which have driven the rise in youth vaping – and bring forward new powers to restrict vape flavours, introduce plain packaging and change how vapes are displayed in shops.
“Alongside our commitment to stop children who turn 15 this year or younger from ever legally being sold cigarettes, these changes will leave a lasting legacy by protecting our children’s health for the long term.”
Smoking remains the UK’s single biggest preventable killer, causing around one in four cancer deaths and leading to 80,000 deaths per year, while the health effects of vaping remain unknown.
Will the smoking ban be subject to a ‘nanny state’ backlash?
As smoking has been increasingly curtailed in public, it’s easy to forget that it’s still one of the leading causes of death and illness in the UK.
It kills around half of those who smoke, making it the biggest one that’s entirely preventable. The habit kills 76,000 people a year, according to the NHS.
From a public health perspective, Rishi Sunak’s plans are being hailed as a game-changer, and the vaping ban will reassure the message boards full of worried parents of teenagers.
But there’s still something about the ban on cigarettes altogether, that sits uneasily, particularly with politicians on the right.
The new measures follow a government consultation into smoking and vaping which was launched last year, in which nearly 70% of parents, teachers, healthcare professionals and the general public indicated their support for further restrictions.
Enforcement agencies, including Border Force and HMRC, are in line to receive £30m in new funding a year to enforce the measures.
The government will also bring in new fines for shops in England and Wales that sell vapes illegally to children, in addition to the maximum £2,500 fine that local councils can already impose.
Further restrictions on vaping have been touted after recent figures show the number of children using vapes in the past three years has tripled.
Under its plans, the government is expected to use the Environmental Protection Act to ban disposable vapes and hopes to achieve its aim by the end of 2025 at the latest.
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How does vaping affect long-term health?
The move has been welcomed by health and environmental campaigners. It is estimated that five million disposable vapes are thrown away each week – up from 1.3 million last year.
Dame Rachel de Souza, the Children’s Commissioner for England, said parents would be “extremely relieved” at the proposals.
“When I asked children a couple of years ago about all aspects of their health and wellbeing, I was shocked and concerned to hear from children as young as 12 who told me that vaping was normalised among their peers – even on school premises,” she said.
“This announcement will help tackle that issue and I know that many children and parents will be extremely relieved.”
And Libby Peake, head of resource policy at the Green Alliance, said: “This ban can’t come soon enough, not only for the health of future generations, but also for the health of the planet.
“This bold move by the government is nothing but good news.”
Around 9% of 11 to 15-year-olds are now using vapes and teachers have expressed concern that children are struggling to concentrate in lessons without them.
Read more:
Children ‘so addicted to vapes they can’t last lesson without one’
How would a smoking ban work?
However, former prime minister Liz Truss said Mr Sunak should “reverse” the ban.
“While the state has a duty to protect children from harm, in a free society, adults must be able to make their own choices about their own lives,” she said.
“Banning the sale of tobacco products to anyone born in 2009 or later will create an absurd situation where adults enjoy different rights based on their birthdate.
“A Conservative government should not be seeking to extend the nanny state.”
Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, said: “What has taken the government so long? Labour put forward measures to tackle vapes being aimed at children more than two years ago, but these were blocked by the Conservatives.
“In the meantime, the numbers of young people vaping have soared.”
UK
Pictured: Boy killed in Gateshead industrial estate fire – 14 children arrested on suspicion of manslaughter
Tributes have been paid to 14-year-old Layton Carr who died in a fire at an industrial estate.
Eleven boys and three girls, aged between 11 and 14 years, have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter after the incident in Gateshead on Friday. They remain in police custody.
Police were alerted to a fire at Fairfield industrial park in the Bill Quay area
Firefighters raced to Fairfield industrial park in the Bill Quay area shortly after 8pm, putting out the blaze a short time later.
Police then issued an appeal for a missing boy, Layton Carr, who was believed to be in the area at the time.
In a statement, the force said that “sadly, following searches, a body believed to be that of 14-year-old Layton Carr was located deceased inside the building”.
Layton’s next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specialist officers, police added.
Layton has been described as a ‘beautiful soul’
A fundraising page on GoFundMe has been set up to help Layton’s mother pay for funeral costs.
Organiser Stephanie Simpson said: “The last thing Georgia needs to stress trying to pay for a funeral for her Boy Any donations will help thank you.”
One tribute in a Facebook post read: “Can’t believe I’m writing this my nephew RIP Layton 💔 forever 14 you’ll be a massive miss, thinking of my sister and 2 beautiful nieces right now.”
Another added: “My boy ❤️ my baby cousin, my Layton. Nothing will ever come close to the pain I feel right now. Forever 14. I’ll miss you sausage.”
A third said: “Rest in peace big lad such a beautiful soul taken far to soon my thoughts are with you Gee stay strong girl hear for u always.”
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Detective Chief Inspector Louise Jenkins, of Northumbria Police, also said: “This is an extremely tragic incident where a boy has sadly lost his life.”
She added that the force’s “thoughts are with Layton’s family as they begin to attempt to process the loss of their loved one”.
They are working to establish “the full circumstances surrounding the incident” and officers will be in the area to “offer reassurance to the public”, she added.
A cordon remains in place at the site while police carry out enquiries.
Sky News can reveal that the government has rowed back on a national compensation scheme for victims of child sexual abuse, despite it being promised under the previous Conservative administration.
Warning – this story contains references to sexual and physical abuse
A National Redress Scheme was one of 20 key recommendations made by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), but a Home Office report reveals the government has scrapped it because of the cost.
Marie, who is 71, suffered alleged sexual, physical, and emotional abuse at Greenfield House Convent in St Helens, Merseyside, between 1959 and 1962, and is still fighting for compensation.
Greenfield House Convent, where Marie says she was abused
As soon as she arrived as a six-year-old, Marie says her hair was cut off, her name changed, and she experienced regular beatings from the nuns and students.
She claims a nun instigated the violence, including when Marie was held down so that her legs were “spread-eagled” as she was sexually abused with a coat hanger.
Merseyside Police investigated claims of abuse at the convent, but in 2016, a suspect died before charges could be brought.
Marie has received an apology from the Catholic body that ran the home; she tried to sue them, but her claim was rejected because it was filed too long after the alleged abuse.
Marie, 71, is still fighting for compensation for the abuse she says she suffered as a child
In February, ministers said the law would change for victims of sexual abuse trying to sue institutions for damages, which was a recommendation from the IICSA.
Previously, people had to make a civil claim before they were 21, unless the victim could prove a fair trial could proceed despite the time lapse.
Campaigners argued for the time limit to be removed as, on average, victims wait 26 years to come forward. Changes to the 1980 Limitation Act could lead to more people making claims.
Peter Garsden, President of The Association of Child Abuse Lawyers
Civil cases ‘can take three to five years’
But Peter Garsden, president of the Association of Child Abuse Lawyers, worries that when it comes to historical abuse where the defendant is dead, institutions will still argue that it is impossible to have a fair trial and will fight to have the case thrown out of court.
Mr Garsden said it takes “between three and five years” for a civil case to get to trial.
He warned that claimants “can end up losing if you go through that process. Whereas the Redress Scheme would be quicker, much more straightforward, and much more likely to give justice to the victims”.
Victim awarded £10 compensation
Jimbo, who was a victim of abuse at St Aidan’s children’s home in Cheshire, took his case to the High Court twice and the Court of Appeal three times, but, after 13 years, all he ended up with was £10 for his bus fare to court.
Despite the Lord Justice of Appeal saying he believed that the abuse had occurred, Jimbo lost his claim because of the time limit for child sexual abuse claims to be made.
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Neither Marie nor Jimbo is likely to benefit from the removal of the time limit for personal injury claims, which is why Mr Garsden is calling on the government to implement a National Redress Scheme for victims of sexual abuse, as recommended by the IICSA.
Hundreds of millions paid to victims
The governments in Scotland and Northern Ireland have set up compensation schemes and paid hundreds of millions of pounds to victims.
In 2023, the then Conservative government said a similar scheme would be organised for England and Wales.
But the Home Office admitted in its Tackling Child Sexual Abuse: Progress Update that it “is not currently taking forward any further steps on the IICSA proposal for a separate, national financial redress scheme for all survivors of child sexual abuse”.
“In the current fiscal environment, this recommendation is very difficult to take forward,” it added.
For victims, the scheme was the last chance of compensation for a lifetime blighted by abuse.
“The money is about justice and about all the other people who have had to suffer this abuse,” Marie said.
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