Calls for total ban on vape ads to protect ‘susceptible’ young people

Vape adverts are influencing an ‘overwhelming’ number of young people and must be banned, health researchers say.

The George Institute for Global Health surveyed 4,000 people aged 15 to 30 from the UK, China, India and Australia, finding young Brits were the most exposed to vaping ads and the second-most susceptible to vapes.

Millions of them are also misguided about the potential health risks, the survey suggests.

More than a quarter of the group did not believe e-cigarettes are addictive, while nearly a third did not believe they are harmful.

While studies show vaping is far less harmful than smoking, nicotine is known to be highly addictive and harmful chemicals have been found in unregulated vapes.

Health bodies have repeatedly said there is not yet enough information to rule out long-term side effects even when sticking to tried-and-tested major brands.

In contrast, young Australians were much more likely to believe vapes are addictive (87%) or harmful (83%).

Around 62% of young Brits were found to be susceptible to vapes, compared to 61% of young Indians, 54% of young Australians and 82% of young Chinese people.

Susceptibility was measured by whether respondents were curious about vaping (55% of Brits), intended to use one in the next year (41%) or would try one if offered by a friend (50%).

Some 63% of respondents in the UK said they had seen e-cigarettes advertised, higher than those in Australia (30%), India (47%) and China (51%).

Prof Simone Pettigrew, the study’s lead author, said: ‘While some types of promotion of these products is prohibited, advertising on posters, billboards, and buses is still prevalent in the UK.

‘A complete ban on e-cigarette advertising should be considered, as it is clearly influencing young people’s attitudes towards these addictive and potentially harmful products.’

The countries surveyed have starkly laws around vape use and advertising in the surveyed countries, with the UK being the most relaxed.

Australia currently requires people to have a prescription to buy nicotine vapes, though they are relatively easy to buy on the black market.

Meanwhile, China has banned the sale of vapes with flavours other than tobacco as well as vapes which allow users to load their own flavours.

Producing, importing or advertising vapes is illegal in India, with offenders facing at least a year in prison.

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