Disposable vape ban: Help young vapers and don't judge, Liverpool medic says
Parents should help young people quit vaping by offering "support - not judgement", a hospital consultant has said as a ban on the sale and supply of disposable vapes comes into force on Sunday.The government hopes the ban will curb littering and cut down youth vaping, which has increased despite it being illegal to sell the products to under-18s. Professor Rachel Isba, from Alder Hey Children's Hospital vaping cessation clinic in Liverpool, told BBC Radio 4 that vaping had "sort of snuck up on children and was now so widespread that it's sort of normalised".She advised parents to "guide" their children to a choice rather than just saying they were not allowed, but admitted "it's tricky".
Seventeen-year-old Bella is among those receiving support at Alder Hey after vaping for three years."I wake up and then reach for my vape and then feel like I'm ready," she said.Her mother Lindsey recalled Bella asking for a box of vapes as a Christmas gift, and said: "I just shook my head and walked away from her."Bella told the BBC she had also seen "really young people vaping in the toilets" at school."I think it's good that they're banning disposable vapes because it's harder to get a reusable one so now more kids can't start."
But Bella said she also felt there was a lack of support for young vapers, which Prof Isba agreed with."There are probably tens of thousands of children and young people who want to stop vaping and we don't have the services to support them," she said. "One of the great joys of this clinic [at Alder Hey] is that we can craft it around individual children and young people."She urged parents and carers to approach the issue of their child vaping "from a place of support, not judgement, which is really hard as a parent myself".She said: "It's tricky because you want your child to be as healthy as they can. "But actually my experience has been that supporting them and guiding them to a decision or a choice - rather than just saying 'you are not allowed to vape, you are not allowed to smoke, don't do it' - is a really great place to start."Marcus Sexton, of Blackburn vape shop chain Totally Wicked, said he thought the ban on disposable vapes was more "about environmental grounds".
'Not risk-free'
"I was in Manchester recently watching people return them [for recycling]. It's great - but not enough people do," Mr Sexton said.He called on the government to "make sure they don't throw the baby out with the bathwater by making it so hard and difficult for stores and consumers who are smokers to access these products".But he agreed that should be balanced with restricting access for those who were underage.Nature Minister Mary Creagh, who is an ex-smoker and pushed for the ban, admitted vapes could help people quit smoking but said she did not want a new generation to start vaping. She said about eight million disposable vapes were thrown away per week, and they cause 1,200 fires annually.There have been widespread concerns about the use of some brands which have "skyrocketed, particularly among younger people", according to the government.Recent data suggested about 980,000 youngsters aged 11-17 have tried vaping, which is about 18% of that age demographic. However those who vape regularly were estimated to be about 3.7% of the 11-18 age group. The NHS said "developing lungs and brains mean they are more sensitive" to the impact of nicotine vaping, which is "less harmful than smoking but is not risk-free".
Read more stories from Cheshire, Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC North West on X.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
22 minutes ago
- BBC News
What's Up Docs? Menopause - is HRT for you?
Welcome to What's Up Docs?, the podcast show where doctors and identical twins Chris and Xand van Tulleken explore every aspect of our health and wellbeing. In recent years, long-overdue conversations around the menopause have begun to break taboos and change perceptions. But it can still be a confusing or misunderstood topic, especially with the explosion of menopause marketing that's come alongside increased awareness. In this episode, they're joined by Professor Mary Ann Lumsden, gynaecologist and academic at the University of Glasgow, to ask about the challenges she's seen in her clinic and whether growing awareness has actually translated into better outcomes for women. If you want to get in touch, you can email us at whatsupdocs@ or WhatsApp us on 08000 665 123. Presenters: Drs Chris and Xand van Tulleken Guest: Professor Mary Ann Lumsden Producers: Emily Bird and Jo Rowntree Executive Producer: Rami Tzabar Assistant Producer: Maia Miller-Lewis Tech Lead: Reuben Huxtable Social Media: Leon Gower Sound Design: Melvin Rickarby At the BBC: Assistant Commissioner: Greg Smith Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4
Sky News
26 minutes ago
- Sky News
Mental health cases at A&E reach crisis level - as waits get longer and specialised beds dwindle
"We've got two," explains Emer Szczygiel, emergency department head of nursing at King George Hospital, as she walks inside a pastel coloured room. "If I had my time back again, we would probably have four, five, or six because these have helped us so much in the department with the really difficult patients." On one wall, there's floral wallpaper. It is scored through with a graffiti scrawl. The words must have been scratched out with fingernails. There are no other implements in here. Patients being held in this secure room would have been searched to make sure they are not carrying anything they can use to harm themselves - or others. There is a plastic bed secured to the wall. No bedding though, as this room is "ligature light", meaning nothing in here could be used for self harm. On the ceiling, there is CCTV that feeds into a control room on another part of the Ilford hospital's sprawling grounds. "So this is one of two rooms that when we were undergoing our works, we recognised, about three years ago, mental health was causing us more of an issue, so we've had two rooms purpose built," Emer says. "They're as compliant as we can get them with a mental health room - they're ligature light, as opposed to ligature free. They're under 24-hour CCTV surveillance." There are two doors, both heavily reinforced. One can be used by staff to make an emergency escape if they are under any threat. What is unusual about these rooms is that they are built right inside a busy accident and emergency department. The doors are just feet away from a nurse's station, where medical staff are trying to deal with acute ED (emergency department) attendances. The number of mental health patients in a crisis attending A&E has reached crisis levels. Some will be experiencing psychotic episodes and are potentially violent, presenting a threat to themselves, other patients, clinical staff and security teams deployed to de-escalate the situation. Like physically-ill patients, they require the most urgent care but are now facing some of the longest waits on record. On a fairly quiet Wednesday morning, the ED team is already managing five mental health patients. One, a diminutive South Asian woman, is screaming hysterically. She is clearly very agitated and becoming more distressed by the minute. Despite her size, she is surrounded by at least five security guards. She has been here for 12 hours and wants to leave, but can't as she's being held under the Mental Capacity Act. Her frustration boils over as she pushes against the chests of the security guards who encircle her. "We see about 150 to 200 patients a day through this emergency department, but we're getting on average about 15 to 20 mental health presentations to the department," Emer explains. "Some of these patients can be really difficult to manage and really complex." "If a patient's in crisis and wants to harm themselves, there's lots of things in this area that you can harm yourself with," the nurse adds. "It's trying to balance that risk and make sure every emergency department in the country is deemed a place of safety. But there is a lot of risk that comes with emergency departments, because they're not purposeful for mental health patients." In a small side room, Ajay Kumar and his wife are waiting patiently by their son's bedside. He's experienced psychotic episodes since starting university in 2018 and his father says he can become unpredictable and violent. Ajay says his son "is under a section three order - that means six months in hospital". "They sectioned him," he tells us. "He should be secure now, he shouldn't go out in public. Last night he ran away [from hospital] and walked all the way home. It took him four and a half hours to come home. "I mean, he got three and a half hours away. Even though he's totally mental, he still finds his way home and he was so tired and the police were looking for him." Now they are all back in hospital and could be waiting "for days", Ajay says. "I don't know how many. They're not telling us anything." Matthew Trainer, chief executive of Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, is at pains to stress nobody is blaming the patients. "We've seen, particularly over the last few years, a real increase in the number of people in mental health crisis coming into A&E for support," he says. "And I don't know if this is because of the pandemic or wider economic pressures, but what we're seeing every day is more and more people coming here as their first port of call." The hospital boss adds: "If you get someone who's really distressed, someone who is perhaps experiencing psychosis etc, I'm seeing increasing numbers of complaints from other patients and their families about the environment they've had to wait in. "And they're not blaming the mental health patients for being here. "But what they're saying is being in a really busy accident & emergency with ambulances, with somebody highly distressed, and you're sat there with an elderly relative or a sick child or whatever - it's hard for everyone. "There's no blame in this. It's something we've got to work together to try to fix." New Freedom of Information data gathered by the Royal College of Nursing shows that over the last five years, more than 1.3 million people in a mental health crisis presented to A&E departments. That's expected to be a significant underestimate however, as only around a quarter of English trusts handed over data. For these patients, waits of 12 hours or more for a mental health bed have increased by more than 380%. Over the last decade, the number of overnight beds in mental health units declined by almost 3,700. That's around 17%. The Department for Health and Social Care told Sky News: "We know people with mental health issues are not always getting the support or care they deserve and incidents like this are unacceptable. "We are transforming mental health services - including investing £26m to support people in mental health crisis, hiring more staff, delivering more talking therapies, and getting waiting lists down through our Plan for Change." Claire Murdoch, NHS England's national mental health director, also told Sky News: "While we know there is much more to do to deal with record demand including on waits, if a patient is deemed to need support in A&E, almost all emergency departments now have a psychiatric liaison team available 24/7 so people can get specialist mental health support alongside physical treatment. "The NHS is working with local authorities to ensure that mental health patients are given support to leave hospital as soon as they are ready, so that space can be freed up across hospitals including A&Es." Patients in a mental health crisis and attending hospital are stuck between two failing systems. A shortage of specialist beds means they are left untreated in a hospital not designed to help them. And they are failed by a social care network overwhelmed by demand and unable to provide the early intervention care needed.
BBC News
27 minutes ago
- BBC News
Farming Today 03/06/25 - Welsh Environment Bill, small abattoirs and smart cattle tech
A new law which is intended to protect nature and reverse the loss of wildlife has been introduced by the Welsh Government. The Environment Bill aims to allow members of the public to challenge organisations in Wales, including councils, on environmental issues such as water pollution. If passed, it will set up a new Office of Environmental Governance, to enforce environmental law, and Ministers in the Senedd will have to set targets to reduce pollution and manage ecosystems. We visit Down Land Traditional Meats in West Sussex, where the owner says increasing financial strain and red tape is putting the future of small abattoirs at risk. The closure of abattoirs has been a long standing trend - in the 1970s the UK had 2 and half thousand that had dropped to just 203 by 2023. And we find out about a high-tech cattle handling crate that incorporates software to monitor animals. It can minimise manual handling by drafting animals - where a herd is separated into smaller groups - by itself. Presented by Anna Hill Produced by Heather Simons
