Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to tackle the sale of vapes to school children.

Given the recent increase in children vaping, the Government launched a call for evidence to identify opportunities to reduce the number of children accessing and using vaping products. The call for evidence has now closed and we are currently analysing the responses. Following this, the Government will consider a range of options based on the evidence provided, including potential changes to vaping policy and regulation.

In April 2023, the Government announced £3 million of funding for a new national illicit vaping enforcement unit to tackle illicit and underage vape sales across the country.

The Prime Minister also recently announced several measures to address youth vaping, including closing a loophole that allows industry from giving out free samples to people of any age. The Government will also write to police forces to ensure dedicated school liaison officers across the country are aware of the Government's work on vaping and can make use of new resources to raise awareness of harms and the law, as well as supporting enforcement of school bans.