Teen vaping is now ‘an epidemic' warns study

VAPING has become an epidemic among young people with many using unregulated and potentially dangerous "illicit" vapes, a study found.

- Lucy Johnston

It revealed the number of youths using them has "skyrocketed", with one in five children aged 11 to 17 saying they had tried it last year, up from 15.8 per cent in 2022.

The rise is partly blamed on an increase in the availability of flavoured disposable vapes alongside the rise in vendors. The UK now has more than 3,500 specialist shops, 230 of which opened last year.

Some have been found to sell products to children without proper age verification, while others are selling unregulated, cheap imitations which can contain dangerous chemicals such as lead, nickel and chromium.