Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help raise public awareness of the risks of vaping.

The Government is concerned about the worrying rise in vaping among children. Youth vaping has tripled in the last three years, and one in five children now use a vape. The health advice is clear, if you don’t smoke, don’t vape – and children should never vape. That is why we are taking decisive action to ban disposable vapes alongside broader measures to restrict flavours, vape packaging and where vapes are displayed. We will introduce legislation as soon as possible.

The department delivers a range communications and media activity to provide updates on vaping policy and raise public awareness of the risks of vaping – for example, Ministers and the Chief Medical Officer regularly undertake broadcast interviews. The department is also currently in the process of developing new advice and guidance for the Better Health website.

Over the past two years we have also taken several steps to increase training resources and support available for teachers and schools. In October 2022, we published new content on the risks of vaping for young people on the FRANK and Better Health websites and have provided input to educational resources produced by partners including the PSHE Association.

The department is currently in conversations with leading technology and social media platforms to reduce the visibility of any content that might glamourise vaping to children and young people, while increasing and enhancing the signposting to trusted sources of information on the harms to children from vaping.