Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made an assessment of the implications for her policies of research by Professor Martin Schwendler and Dr Chiara Herzog on changes to epithelial cells caused by vaping.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Vaping is never recommended for children, and carries the potential harms of future addiction while their lungs and brains are still developing. The health advice is clear, vapes can be an effective tool to help smokers quit, but young people and those who have never smoked should not vape, or be encouraged to vape.
As stated by Cancer Research UK, this study contributes to our understanding of e-cigarettes, also known as vapes, but does not show that e-cigarettes cause cancer. Decades of research has proven the link between smoking and cancer, and studies have so far shown that e-cigarettes are far less harmful than smoking, and can help people quit. This paper does, however, highlight that vapes are not risk-free, and so we need additional studies to uncover their potential longer-term impacts on human health.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment she has made of the (a) prevalence of the use of disposable vapes by people under the age of 18 and (b) impact of that use on their health.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Vaping is never recommended for children and carries the risk of future harm and addiction. The active ingredient in most vapes, apart from nicotine-free vapes, is nicotine which, when inhaled, is a highly addictive drug. Evidence suggests that the brain in adolescence is more sensitive to the effects of nicotine, so there could be additional risks for young people. The long-term health harms of colours and flavours when inhaled are unknown, but they are certainly very unlikely to be beneficial.
The Department does not hold data on the prevalence of the use of disposable vapes by people under the age of 18 years old. However, Action on Smoking and Health’s survey, Use of e-cigarettes among young people in Great Britain, found that 69% of vape users aged 11 to 17 years old mainly used disposable vapes in 2023, rising from 7.7% in 2021. Northern Ireland’s Young person’s behaviour and attitude survey 2022, shows that 85.7% of 11 to 16 year olds in Northern Ireland who currently use vapes, reported that they used disposables. Both surveys are available respectively at the following links:
https://ash.org.uk/resources/view/use-of-e-cigarettes-among-young-people-in-great-britain
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
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 support research into the potential impact of vaping on health.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The best thing a smoker can do for their health is to quit smoking. As shown in the recently published Nicotine Vaping in England Report there is evidence that vapes are less harmful to health than smoking.
The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID), previously Public Health England, has published detailed evidence updates on vapes/e-cigarettes. These reviews report on the safety, effectiveness and impact of vapes since 2014. The last report is available at the following link:
OHID will continue to closely monitor the evidence base of research on vapes, including their long-term impact on health and health behaviours.
Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she is taking steps to help teachers reduce vaping in classrooms.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Schools are required by law to have a behaviour policy that sets out what is expected of all pupils, including what items are banned from school premises. The department supports head teachers in taking proportionate and measured steps to ensure good behaviour in schools. To support schools to do so, the department has strengthened the Behaviour in Schools guidance which is the primary source of help and support for schools on developing and implementing a behaviour policy that can create a school culture which has high expectations of all pupils. This guidance outlines effective strategies that will encourage good behaviour and the sanctions that will be imposed for misbehaviour, including vaping anywhere in school.
Schools have the autonomy to decide which items should be banned from their premises, and these can include e-cigarettes or vapes. School staff can search pupils for banned items as outlined in the department’s searching, screening and confiscation guidance available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/searching-screening-and-confiscation.
On 1 June 2023, the Prime Minister announced an intervention which will take steps to prevent children obtaining e-cigarettes illegally. The government consulted on measures to reduce the appeal and availability of vapes to children. The consultation response will be published in the coming weeks.
The department is planning to include a specific reference to the dangers of e-cigarettes in the amended relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) curriculum. The RSHE statutory guidance sets out the curriculum topics and already states that in primary and secondary school, pupils should be taught the facts about legal and illegal harmful substances and associated risks. This includes smoking, alcohol use, and drug taking. To support schools to deliver this content effectively, the department published a suite of teacher training modules, including drugs, alcohol and tobacco, which makes specific reference to e-cigarettes. The RSHE statutory guidance is available online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate she has made of how many (a) e-cigarette and (b) tobacco products were sold (i) online and (ii) online to people underage in each of the last five years.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is an offence to sell tobacco and vapes to children under 18. The Government is committed to tackling underage sales, including online.
Whilst we do not hold the information requested, a Chartered Trading Standards Institute survey showed that from 2019 to 2020, of the councils who undertook test purchasing, 50% reported that cigarettes or tobacco products were sold to people who were underage in at least one premise. Similarly in 2022 to 2023, National Trading Standards identified that 27% of the 1,000 vape test purchases carried out with retailers resulted in an illegal sale.
We will introduce legislation, namely the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, in this parliamentary session to strengthen our enforcement activity, through new powers to fine rogue retailers. We have also committed to enhance online age verification to stop underage sales of tobacco products and vapes online.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the number of people who use vapes (a) as an aide to stop smoking cigarettes and (b) who did not previously smoke by (i) age, (ii) gender, (iii) ethnicity, (iv) socio-economic status and (v) integrated care system (A) location and (B) sub-location.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) adult smoking habits survey provides some data on the proportion of people that vape in England.
In 2019, 52.8% e-cigarette users aged 16 years old and over were using them as an aid to stop smoking. This equates to just over one million adults in the population. This is the last time this information was collected due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2022, 2.4% of adults aged 16 years old and over who had never smoked were current users of e-cigarettes. This equates almost 700,000 adults in the population.
Further breakdowns by age, gender, ethnicity, socio-economic status, and integrated care system location and sub-location are not published by ONS.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has considered the potential merits of including in statutory guidance on relationships, sex and health education a requirement for pupils to be taught about the health risks associated with e-cigarettes and vapes.
Answered by Nick Gibb
On 1 June 2023, the Prime Minister announced an intervention which will take steps to prevent children obtaining e-cigarettes illegally. The Department is planning to include a specific reference to the dangers of e-cigarettes in the amended relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) curriculum.
The RSHE statutory guidance, which sets out the curriculum topics, already states that in primary and secondary school, pupils should be taught the facts about legal and illegal harmful substances and associated risks. This includes smoking, alcohol use, and drug taking. To support schools to deliver this content effectively, the Department published a suite of teacher training modules, including drugs, alcohol and tobacco, which makes specific reference to e-cigarettes.
In addition, drugs, alcohol and tobacco are taught in compulsory health education. This supplements drug education which is part of the National Curriculum for Key Stages 2 and 3 science.
Schools are required by law to have a behaviour policy that sets out what is expected of all pupils, including what items are banned from school premises. This should be communicated to all pupils, parents and school staff.
Schools have the autonomy to decide which items should be banned from their premises, and these can include e-cigarettes. Items banned by the school can be searched for as outlined in the department’s searching, screening and confiscation guidance: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/searching-screening-and-confiscation.
The Department believes that this will help head teachers to manage the use of e-cigarettes on school premises and to inform young people about the risks, with a view to reducing the numbers of pupils who are currently using e-cigarettes, or who might be tempted to try it in the future.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that relationships, sex and health education statutory guidance includes a requirement for pupils to be taught about the risks associated with e-cigarettes and vapes.
Answered by Nick Gibb
On 1 June 2023, the Prime Minister announced steps to prevent pupils getting access to vapes illegally. As part of this, the Department is planning to include a specific reference to the harms of vaping in the amended Relationships, Sex and Health education (RSHE) curriculum.
The RSHE statutory guidance, which sets out the curriculum topics, already states that in primary and secondary school, pupils should be taught the facts about legal and illegal harmful substances and associated risks, including smoking, alcohol use, and drug-taking. To support schools to deliver this content effectively, the Department published a suite of teacher training modules, including on drugs, alcohol and tobacco, which makes specific reference to e-cigarettes (vaping).
In addition, the dangers of drugs, alcohol and tobacco are taught in compulsory health education. This supplements drug education which is part of the National Curriculum for science in Key Stages 2 and 3.
Schools are required by law to have a behaviour policy that sets out what is expected of all pupils, including what items are banned from school premises. This should be communicated to all pupils, parents and school staff.
Schools have the autonomy to decide which items should be banned from their premises, and these can include vapes. Items banned by the school can be searched for as outlined in the department’s Searching, Screening and Confiscation guidance, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/searching-screening-and-confiscation.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to publish to publish for consultation an amended draft of the statutory guidance on the risks associated with e-cigarettes in the Relationships, Sex and Health Education curriculum.
Answered by Nick Gibb
On 1 June 2023, my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, announced steps to prevent pupils getting access to e-cigarettes illegally. As part of this, the Department is planning to include a specific reference to the harms of e-cigarettes in the amended Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) curriculum.
The Department expects to publish an amended draft of the statutory guidance for consultation later this autumn, with a view to a final version being published in 2024.
The RSHE statutory guidance, which sets out the curriculum topics, already states that in primary and secondary school, pupils should be taught the facts about legal and illegal harmful substances and associated risks, including smoking, alcohol use, and drug taking. To support schools to deliver this content effectively, the Department published a suite of teacher training modules, including drugs, alcohol and tobacco, which makes specific reference to e-cigarettes.
In addition, the dangers of drugs, alcohol and tobacco are taught in compulsory health education. This supplements drug education which is part of the National Curriculum for Science in Key Stages 2 and 3.
Schools are required by law to have a behaviour policy that sets out what is expected of all pupils, including what items are banned from school premises. This should be communicated to all pupils, parents and school staff.
Schools have the autonomy to decide which items should be banned from their premises, and these can include e-cigarettes. Items banned by the school can be searched for as outlined in the Department’s Searching, Screening and Confiscation guidance: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/searching-screening-and-confiscation.
The Department believes that this will help head teachers to manage e-cigarettes on school premises and to inform pupils about the risks, with a view to reducing the numbers of pupils who are currently using e-cigarettes, or who might be tempted to try them in the future.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the potential (a) health and (b) economic impact of banning the sale of single-use e-cigarettes on ex-smokers with low incomes.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The Government recently ran a call for evidence on youth vaping (using an e-cigarette), which closed on 6 June. This will identify opportunities to reduce the number of children accessing and using vaping products and explore where the Government can go further, including on disposable vapes. As part of this process, we are assessing a range of factors such as the economic impact of any future restrictions including related to disposable vapes. We will respond to the call for evidence shortly.