Latest news with #RachelIsba
BBC News
3 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
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 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 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 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 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 have been widespread concerns about the use of some brands which have "skyrocketed, particularly among younger people", according to the 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.
Sky News
3 days ago
- Health
- Sky News
Kids 'sleep with vapes under pillows' - but will sales ban on disposables have any effect?
As a ban on the sale of disposable vapes comes into force on Sunday, a doctor who set up the first-ever clinic to help children stop vaping has said she has seen patients so addicted they couldn't sleep through the night without them. Professor Rachel Isba established the clinic at Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool in January and has now seen several patients as young as 11 years old who are nicotine dependent. "Some of the young people vape before they get out of bed. They are sleeping with them under their pillow," she told Sky News. "I'm hearing stories of some children waking up at three o'clock in the morning, thinking they can't sleep, thinking the vape will help them get back to sleep. Whereas, actually, that's the complete opposite of how nicotine works." Ms Isba said most of her patients use disposable vapes, and while some young people may use the chance to give up, others will simply move to refillable devices after the ban. "To me, vaping feels quite a lot like the beginning of smoking. I'm not surprised, but disappointed on behalf of the children that history has repeated itself." A government ban on single-use vapes comes into effect from Sunday, prohibiting the sale of disposable vaping products across the UK, both online and in-store, whether or not they contain nicotine. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said usage among young vapers remained too high, and the ban would "put an end to their alarming rise in school playgrounds and the avalanche of rubbish flooding the nation's streets". Circular economy minister Mary Creagh said: "For too long, single-use vapes have blighted our streets as litter and hooked our children on nicotine. That ends today. The government calls time on these nasty devices." At nearby Shrewsbury House Youth Club in Everton, a group of 11 and 12-year-old girls said vape addiction is already rife among their friends. Yasmin Dumbell said: "Every day we go out, and at least someone has a vape. I know people who started in year five. It's constantly in their hand." Her friend Una Quayle said metal detectors were installed at her school to try to stop pupils bringing in vapes, and they are having special assemblies about the dangers of the devices. But, she said, students "find ways to get around the scanners though - they hide them in their shorts and go to the bathroom and do it". The girls said the ban on disposables is unlikely to make a difference for their friends who are already addicted. According to Una, they'll "find a way to get nicotine into their system". As well as trying to address the rise in young people vaping, the government hopes banning single-use vapes will reduce some of the environmental impact the devices have. Although all vapes can be recycled, only a tiny proportion are - with around eight million a week ending up in the bin or on the floor. Pulled apart by hand Even those that are recycled have to be pulled apart by hand, as there is currently no way to automate the process. Scott Butler, executive director of Material Focus, a recycling non-profit group, said vapes were "some of the most environmentally wasteful, damaging, dangerous consumer products ever sold". His organisation worries that with new, legal models being designed to almost exactly mimic disposables in look and feel - and being sold for a similar price - people will just keep throwing them away. He said the behaviour "is too ingrained. The general public have been told 'vapes are disposable'. They've even been marketed this way. But they never were disposable".
