Agenda item

The Committee considered a joint report of the Corporate Director of Resources and the Director of Public Health which provided members of the joint Children and Young People and Adults, Wellbeing and Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee with an update on the evidence base relating to children, young people and vaping (for copy of report and presentation see file of minutes).

Katie Bewick, Public Health Advanced Practitioner, was welcomed to the meeting to deliver the presentation.  Introducing the presentation, the officer explained that whilst in the short to medium term, vaping poses a fraction of the risks of smoking, vaping is not risk free. 

Vapes are substantially less harmful than smoking and can be an effective tool in supporting smoking cessation. The smoking prevalence in County Durham is 15.4% and there has been an increase in the number of children vaping both nationally and within County Durham. National Data from ASH (Action on Smoking and Health) shows adult e-cigarette prevalence stands at 9.1% which is the highest rate ever.  In addition, there is an increase in the number of adults who believe that vaping is as harmful or more harmful as smoking.  

The Committee noted a school survey conducted in 2022 found that 11% of secondary school pupils and 4% of primary school children had tried vaping once,  4% of secondary school pupils and 0% of primary school pupils reported vaping once per day. 

The Association of Directors of Public Health in the North East have assessed the evidence and developed a factsheet on youth vaping and a position statement on the role of vaping in tobacco control and how to protect young people. The key messages are that vaping is not for children; that vaping can help adults to quit smoking but it is not risk free and those who do not  smoke, should not vape.  ASH have produced a document which addresses common misconceptions around vaping and the Public Health Advanced Practitioner provided examples of educational resources which have been shared with schools in County Durham.

The Public Health Advanced Practitioner informed the Committee that central to the work is how to portray the message, balancing the risk, in order that adult smokers use vaping as an aid to help them to stop smoking but that it also discourages people who have never smoked from starting to vape.  Members noted that a motion to Council was agreed on 6 December 2023 for Durham County Council to respond to the government’s consultation to create a smokefree generation, by supporting the age of sale proposal for tobacco and vaping and to propose evidence based measures to tighten the promotion of vapes to reduce their appeal to children and young people.

The Chair thanked the Public Health Advanced Practitioner officer for the presentation and requested comments and questions from the Committee.

Councillor Mulholland questioned whether more could be done to tackle the illicit sale of vapes and he also remarked on the environmental damage caused by disposable vapes.

The Public Health Advanced Practitioner explained that the Council’s response to the consultation does not request a ban on disposable vapes, however it does suggest an additional tax on disposable vapes, to make them less accessible to young people. The Public Health Advanced Practitioner added that the introduction of a new legislation to create a smokefree generation is expected to include plans to support local trading standards to tackle the trade in illicit vaping products. 

With regard to the environmental impact of disposable vapes, work has been done to increase the number of recycling points across the county and this issue has been included in the consultation response. 

Darren Hull, Team Leader for Consumer Safety, referred to difficulties caused by loopholes in the law which leave some disposable vapes outside the scope of the regulations.  He also pointed out that the current law enables children to obtain free samples of vapes. He stated that, at present, there is a consultation with government which includes closure of these loopholes, which Public Health and Durham County Council’s Trading Standards have collectively responded to. He explained that the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment regulations (WEEE) places a duty on manufacturers to ensure waste electrical goods are recycled and he added that Trading Standards generally are looking to further lobby for more legislation to address these issues and include disposable vapes.

The Chair raised concerns that illegal products are being sold unknowingly by honest business operators and she asked what action could be taken to trace the supply of illegal products.  The Team Leader for Consumer Safety explained that when businesses seek advice and prior to any intelligence led operation, Durham Trading Standards Teams will always provide relevant guidance. He explained there is nationally a Home Authority Scheme where Traders are advised according to relevant Local Authority policies, however those seeking advice under the Primary Authority scheme may seek advice from any authority in the country and Durham has no control over advice given by other authorities.  The Team Leader stated that officers now carry out spot-checks during routine inspections, checking inside boxes for illegal products, whenever it is possible to do so.

Councillor Hovvels welcomed the motion to Council however she pointed out that tackling under age sales comes with costs for enforcement. Councillor Hovvels stressed that resources will be required and Trading Standards authorities will need to link with the work of HMRC and Border Force in order to access funding for action to prevent underage sales and tackle the import of illicit goods.  

Councillor Quinn referred to the statistics on vaping prevalence and gave the view that whilst the figures were concerning, the figures may not reflect the true extent of the problem as they be subject to under-reporting. The Public Health Advanced Practitioner explained the survey, which was a school based survey on health, conducted in 2022 was the most up-to-date study available, however, the next survey will be conducted in 2024. 

In response to a question from Councillor Quinn as to whether the survey included questions on the consumption of energy drinks, some of which contain alcohol, the Public Health Advanced Practitioner responded that questions on energy drinks were included and that there was scope to modify the questions in the next survey, for more detailed information to be provided.  The Team Leader for Consumer Safety clarified that there are no age restrictions on the sale of energy drinks, however, the advice provided by the service is thatnational retailers have agreed to voluntarily ban the sale of energy drinks to customers under 16 years of age.

Councillor Crute asked whether the resources for schools are designed to encourage pupils to take messages back to their parents as children can be very persuasive in their efforts to stop their parents smoking.  The Public Health Advanced Practitionerconfirmed that the service recognises that children are a powerful tool to encourage parents to be better role-models. 

The message must protect children and youngpeople whilst also support adult smokers to stop smoking. 

The Chair referred to the culture shift since legislation was passed to ban smoking in enclosed public spaces and she commented that she hopes the future will see a smokefree generation.

Resolved:

The joint Children and Young People’s and Adults Wellbeing and Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee received the report and presentation and provided comment.