PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
(3 March 2025)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department's press release entitled 10-year study to shed light on youth vaping, published on 19 February 2025, what steps he plans to take to ensure all data reviewed is from the use of vapes compliant with UK regulations.

Asked by:
Jack Rankin (Conservative)

Due to the nicotine content and unknown long-term harms, vapes and nicotine products carry risks of harm and addiction, and this is particularly acute for adolescents whose brains are still developing.

The 10-year Adolescent Health Study (AHS) will follow a cohort of 100,000 eight to 18 year olds from across the United Kingdom and will provide further insights about the health consequences of vaping for young people. This will provide healthcare professionals and policymakers with the robust evidence they need to shape future policy. We will continue to engage with the AHS team during the study’s development.

Alongside this, we will continue to clamp down on illicit vapes and those which are not compliant with UK regulations. We have also committed to invest £10 million of new funding in 2025/26, to support Trading Standards to tackle underage and illicit tobacco and vape sales.

Through the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, we are also introducing powers to introduce a retail licensing scheme and create a more robust product registration scheme. A new registration scheme, along with stricter rules on testing and product requirements, will support a safe and legal market for tobacco and vape products, and will allow us to quickly identify illicit products which should not be on shelves.

Answered by:
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