Young people trying vaping is on the rise, says report
THE number of children and young people who are trying vaping is on the rise, according to a report.
While overall use of e-cigarettes among young people remains low, the number trying it has almost doubled in four years.
The report was led by researchers at King’s College London and commissioned by Public Health England (PHE).
It looked at surveys relating to e-cigarette use among young people, the most recent of which was the Action on Smoking and Health Yougov survey of more than 2,000 children aged 11 to 18 in 2018. Young people aged 11 to 15 answered the survey online but were recruited to the panel by their parents, who were asked to let children answer on their own.
Teenagers aged 16 to 18 were recruited and answered the questions themselves.
The survey showed that 11.7 per cent of 11-to-18-year-olds had tried e-cigarettes once or twice in 2018, almost double the 6.5% in 2014.
Awareness of vaping has also risen, and the proportion who said they had never tried e-cigarettes fell from 91.5% in 2014 to 83.4% in 2018.
Some 3.4% of those polled in 2018 reported using e-cigarettes currently – more than double the 1.6% in 2014.
In 2018, 1.8% reported using them at least once a month but not weekly, and a further 1.7% reported using them at least weekly.
The report said: “Experimentation and use of e-cigarettes has been increasing steadily over time.”
Awareness of e-cigarettes, experimentation and use were higher among older children, the report said.
Some 96.3% of 11-year-olds had never used an e-cigarette or were unaware of them, compared with 68.4% of 18-year-olds.
There was also a definite link between vaping and smoking, researchers said, with smokers far more likely to try vaping than those who had never smoked.
Of children and young people who were current smokers, 15.8% also used electronic cigarettes at least weekly, compared with 3.7% of former smokers and 0.2% of those who had never smoked.
When youngsters who had tried an e-cigarette were asked why, 57.2% said they wanted to give it a try, while 16.1% said they liked the flavours.
Ann Mcneill, professor of tobacco addiction at King’s College London and lead author of the report, said: “We are encouraged that regular vaping among young people in Britain who have never smoked remains low. However, we need to stay vigilant and in particular closely monitor youth smoking.”
Professor John Newton, health improvement director at PHE, said: “We will keep a close watch on young people’s vaping and smoking habits.”