A new webpage has been unveiled dedicated to educating young people, parents, carers, and professionals about the risks associated with vaping and help available locally.
The webpage was developed by a team including Gloucestershire County Council public health, Trading Standards, teachers, GPs, school nurses, the youth support team, Gloucestershire Healthy Living and Learning and voluntary sector agencies.
It provides a resource to show the risk of adolescent vaping, alongside signposting to support available for children and young people that vape, as well as professionals, and parents and carers on how they can support young people that vape.
Vaping among young people has become a growing concern in recent years, with studies showing a significant increase in usage. The new webpage aims to address this issue by offering detailed information on the potential health risks, including respiratory problems and addiction.
The Gloucestershire 2024 Pupil Wellbeing Survey recently found that 45 per cent of Year 12 pupils and 29.4 per cent of Year 10 pupils had tried vaping.
Vaping is more risky for young people than adults, as young people’s developing lungs and brains are more sensitive to the effects of nicotine.
It comes as the Government’s ban on single-use vapes being sold came into force on June 1. Single-use vapes have contributed to the rise in vaping among young people.
This new online resource also provides information of how to report the sale of illegal vapes to Gloucestershire’s Trading Standards service.
The webpage is part of Gloucestershire’s strategy to support people to stop smoking. The strategy supports the use of vapes as a tool to help adults to stop smoking tobacco, and aims to stop young people from ever starting to vape or smoke.
Visit www.nhsglos.nhs.uk/your-health-services/healthy-communities/vaping for more information.
Siobhan Farmer, Director of Public Health at Gloucestershire County Council, said: “Vaping can be a useful tool to help adults stop smoking but it is dangerous for young people to vape.
“I am pleased that we, along with NHS Gloucestershire, have been able to produce this resource to education young people, along with their parents and carers, on the risks of vaping.
“With the Government’s recent ban on single-use vapes, I would also encourage residents that see these products on sale to report them to Gloucestershire Trading Standards.”
