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Influencers will urge young people not to start vaping as part of a government-funded campaign that will use YouTube and Instagram to highlight health risks.
Big Manny, who has 1.6m followers on Instagram, and Bodalia, a doctor and DJ, are joining forces in the first official initiative to try to dissuade under-18s from using e-cigarettes.
Ministers have decided to launch the campaign after evidence showed that the numbers of under-18s trying or using vapes has soared in recent years. About one in five of those aged 11 to 17 have tried them and as many as one in 10 secondary school students occasionally or regularly use them.
Ashley Dalton, the public health minister, unveiled the campaign today alongside a major new research project that will investigate how vaping affects young people’s health.
“We know that vaping can be a useful tool to quit smoking but it’s crucial we have clear evidence on the long-term health harms, especially for young people,” said Dalton.
A quarter of 11 to 15-year-olds have experimented with e-cigarettes, research shows.
“The number of non-smokers, particularly young people, taking up vaping is extremely worrying,” said Sarah Sleet, the chief executive of Asthma + Lung UK.
“It is already known that vaping can cause inflammation in the airways, and people with asthma have told us that vapes can trigger their condition.
“Vaping could put developing lungs at risk, while exposure to nicotine – also contained in vapes – can damage developing brains.
“This is why young people should be stopped from taking up vaping in the first place.”
A government crackdown on youth vaping through the tobacco and vapes bill will limit the flavours and packaging that can be used, as well as displays deliberately designed to appeal to children.
Young people who start vaping could end up with damaged lungs and hooked on nicotine forever, the organisation representing the UK’s specialist children’s doctors warned.
“Vaping can be very addictive and lead to a lifelong relationship with nicotine, and the chemicals within these products are very likely to be particularly harmful to young, developing lungs,” said Dr Mike McKean, vice-president for policy for the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.
“I often worry that the full effects of these toxicities are unlikely to be known for many years, and by the time the full adverse effects are apparent it may be too late to reverse.”
The £62m study will track 100,000 young people over ten years and aim to provide definitive proof of how vaping affects children’s health.
