Could plain packaging for vapes help reduce appeal and use by UK teenagers?

APES should be sold in plain packages to reduce their appeal to children, anew study suggests.

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But adults are still likely to buy e-cigarettes sold in plain packs, researchers found.

Experts say that using plain packaging could reduce the number of children who take up vaping while still being used by adults as a tool to quit smoking.

It comes as a new study assessed whether standardised packaging and limited flavour descriptions affected the appeal of vape pods to British children and adults.

The study, led by UCL and King’s College London researchers, involved 2,770 children and young people aged 11 to 18 and just under 4,000 adults.

They were shown vape packs and children were asked about whether they felt their peers would be interested in trying the product, while adults were asked if they themselves would be interested in trying it.

The different packs were: usual branded packs; a plain white pack with the usual description of the product in black lettering, such a “blu razz”; a plain pack with limited flavour descriptions, such as “blue raspberry”; and a standardised pack with the flavour listed as a code instead of a name, such as “FR248”.