The UK government has unveiled plans to introduce plain packaging for vapes, limit device colors to white, black or grey, and keep them out of sight in shops, as part of a crackdown on marketing aimed at children. The proposals, announced by Health Secretary James Murray, include restrictions on flavor descriptions, allowing simple names like 'apple' while banning names linked to sweets, desserts, and alcohol.
Consultation on Vape Marketing
Murray told the Press Association that the government is launching a 12-week consultation on 'our plans to make vaping less attractive for children and young people.' He said: 'We all know that the way that some of the vaping products are promoted – the very colourful packaging and names that might be aimed at children and young people. That’s wrong because we want to make sure that, as well as being a smoke-free generation, we want children and young people not to start vaping in the first place.'
Rising Youth Vaping Rates
Figures from a poll conducted on behalf of the charity Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) suggest that nearly one in five (19%) 11-17-year-olds in Britain have tried vaping. Prof Steve Turner, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, welcomed the consultation, stating: 'For those of us working with children every day, it is clear that only strong and meaningful regulation will protect them from the harms associated with nicotine addiction.'
Support from Health Charities
Hazel Cheeseman, chief executive of Ash, said: 'Protecting children from harmful vape marketing is the right thing to do. Attractive, colourful branding and images have driven the appeal of vapes to children leading to an increase in use.' The Department of Health said the consultation includes plans for white packaging for vapes with restrictions on text color, imagery, branding, and standardised product information.
Evidence from Research
Research published last year in the Lancet Regional Health Europe, led by UCL and King’s College London, found that among children and young people aged 11 to 18, half (53%) said their peers would be interested in trying vapes in their usual packaging, dropping to 38% when shown standardised packs with usual flavor descriptions. Interest from adults remained the same regardless of packaging. The government noted the success of standardised packaging for cigarettes since 2017 as a model for these proposals.
Broader Tobacco Measures
The consultation also proposes inserts for cigarette packs telling smokers where to get help to quit and plans to enforce plain packaging rules on all tobacco products, including rolling paper and cigars. Exemptions allowing duty-free shops and airports to display tobacco products would be removed. Cheeseman added: 'There is a careful balance to strike with regulations. While vapes are not harm free, they are significantly less harmful than smoking and vapes have helped millions of people successfully stop smoking in recent years.'
