Almost 15 million teens around the world using vapes, WHO report says

More than 100 cardinal radical astir the satellite are utilizing e-cigarettes, according to "alarming" estimates from the World Health Organisation, with astir 15 cardinal teenagers believed to vape.

In its study - the wellness body's archetypal ever tracking of the usage of vapes and different physics smoking devices - the WHO said that fig includes astatine slightest 86 cardinal adults, mostly from high-income countries.

But the study said 14.7 cardinal of the full believed to usage e-cigarettes were reportedly children aged betwixt 13 and 15 years old.

It added that vaping's prevalence among teens globally was 7.2%. In contrast, portion astir 20.4 cardinal adolescents reported smoking cigarettes, it had a prevalence of 5.1%.

The report's authors added that, based connected disposable information for 63 countries - including successful the UK - rates of vaping for 13- to 15-year-olds are "on mean 9 times higher than the prevalence among adults", adding that "adolescents are mostly utilizing the products astatine a higher complaint than adults".

They besides said: "Given that nary state with a caller school-based survey of this property radical recovered existent usage of e-cigarettes astatine zero, it is tenable to presume the WHO estimation is an undercount.

"This uncovering is not astonishing considering that the manufacture is aggressively targeting children and young people, including done caller integer channels that are underregulated."

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Etienne Krug, manager of the WHO's Health Determinants, Promotion and Prevention department, said successful a connection that "e-cigarettes are fuelling a caller question of nicotine addiction".

"They are marketed arsenic harm reduction," she added, "but, successful reality, are hooking kids connected nicotine earlier and hazard undermining decades of progress."

WHO director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus besides said that portion millions are "stopping, oregon not taking up baccy use... the baccy manufacture is warring backmost with caller nicotine products, aggressively targeting young people".

He called connected governments to "act faster and stronger successful implementing proven baccy power policies".

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The UK introduced a prohibition connected selling and supplying single-use vapes successful June this year, designed to tackle discarded and the interaction of vapes connected the environment.

While determination is nary further prohibition connected vapes successful the works, the government's Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which is presently successful the committee signifier astatine the House of Lords, includes powers to perchance restrict the packaging, selling and flavours of e-cigarettes.