A new survey has revealed that over three quarters of people in Scotland are concerned about the use of vaping products in schools (83%) and the marketing of vaping products to young people and children (82%) – with those answering ‘extremely concerned’ and ‘quite concerned’ combined’. The survey was commissioned by the charity Asthma + Lung UK Scotland and conducted by Opinion Matters on 1,000 adults in Scotland aged 16+.
Recent polling from the Daily Record which focused on the environmental concern of single-use plastic vapes has also shown that nearly three quarters of people in Scotland think they should be banned
The news comes ahead of a debate surrounding the increasing concerns of parliamentarians and wider society around the rise in the use of vaping products by children and young people led by Siobhan Brown MSP and scheduled to take place on 31 January.
The MSP for the Scottish National Party has said: “I welcome the research conducted on behalf of Asthma + Lung UK Scotland. It would certainly seem that the public feel strongly about vaping and the issues surrounding it such as advertising and how it targets children.
“I have noticed a surge in the use of e-cigarette use amongst teenagers in the street and outside of secondary schools…it’s clear to me that children and young people are being targeted by e-cigarette companies who sell brightly coloured vapes in enticing flavours like cotton candy and cherry cola. It’s time these flavours were banned, and plain packaging introduced.”
The Scottish Greens have also been campaigning for a full-scale ban of single-use vapes. Gillian MacKay MSP has stated: “Every week across the UK 1.3 million disposable vapes are thrown away, polluting our parks, rivers and beaches with single use plastic and lithium batteries. The amount of waste is staggering and significantly sets back our journey to a low-waste economy.”
