Hampshire County Council taking action over youths vaping

PLANS to tackle an increase in young people experimenting with vaping have been revealed by Hampshire County Council.

There has been a huge rise in the number of youngsters, including kids as young as eight, using vapes across the UK.

A recent survey of secondary schools and colleges in Hampshire showed a big increase in the number of young people both experimenting with and using vapes, with 53% of pupils in year 13 admitting they had tried vaping.

At a recent meeting, HCC pledged to support a series of enforcement measures and education to deal with the problem.

Cllr Liz Fairhurst, Hampshire County Council’s cabinet member for adult social care and public health, said: “While vaping can be a useful tool for helping smokers to quit, these devices should not be used by children or anyone who does not smoke, as the long-term risks are not fully known, and vaping nicotine products is addictive.

“The rise in vaping experimentation among children and teens poses a significant risk to their wellbeing, with potential long-term consequences.

“We want to help protect teenagers by educating them about the effects, as well as keeping vapes out of reach through tough enforcement.”

In schools across the county, letters have been sent to parents warning them of the dangers of vaping and how they can get help if they suspect their child is doing it.

The council is also “developing education and awareness schemes to encourage behaviour change and reduce uptake”.

Trading Standards teams will carry out enforcement operations to stop the sale of vapes to underage kids and tackle illegal vapes, which contain harmful chemicals such as lead and nickel which can cause brain and nerve damage.

The council also want to take action against the huge number of vapes being dumped after use. It is estimated that around 1.3m single use vapes are thrown away every week.

Hampshire residents can now recycle vapes at any Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC).

Cllr Nick Adams-King, the council’s member for universal services, said: “Discarded vapes are an increasingly common eyesore in our villages, towns, and cities, which creates tonnes of additional plastic litter.

“This is just one reason, alongside serious health concerns over under-age vaping, why the county council is joining local authorities across the UK to call for a ban on single use vapes.

“Anything containing batteries, including vapes, should never be placed in your waste or recycling bin at home, as they are inflammable and can spontaneously combust.

“Rogue batteries are the single biggest cause of fire in refuse trucks and waste sites, which poses an avoidable risk to staff and unnecessary cost burden on taxpayer-funded services.

“It can also mean a truckload of valuable recyclable material that was carefully sorted by residents going up in smoke.”

Household Waste Recycling Centres can accept all types of vapes, and the guidance is not to dismantle the items in any way before disposal for safety reasons; unless the batteries can be safely removed for separate recycling.