The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has said that it strongly supports the UK government's proposal that individuals born on or after 1 January 2009
should be prohibited from legally purchasing tobacco products.
It has also shown its agreement to several other actions proposed by the Department of Health and Social Care's (DHSC) for 'Creating a Smokefree Generation and
Tackling Youth Vaping' including:
The inclusion of all tobacco products, cigarette papers, and herbal smoking products in the new legislation.
Restrictions on the sale and supply of disposable vapes, and vape flavours.
RPS President, Professor Claire Anderson, said: "Our recommendations reflect a commitment to creating a future free from the harms of tobacco and youth vaping.
It's crucial to prohibit access for the youngest generation, regulate all tobacco-related items, and address the allure of flavoured e-cigarettes."
Restricting sales of vape products to pharmacies is not a solution to curb illegal sales of vape among underage adults, said UK Vaping Industry Association
(UKVIA).
In an oral evidence at the House of Commons on 'Youth Vaping' called by the Health and Social Care Select Committee (HSSC) to figure out action needed to reduce
vaping among those under 18.
Rachael Maskell, York Central MP's suggested on vape products being available from licensed pharmacies.
Marcus Saxton, Chairman, Independent British Vape Trade Association (IBVTA) said: "We are calling for further regulation to tighten up what has now been an extreme
growth in single-use products. If you put them into those environments, as New Zealand and Australia are telling us, the perception of the public is that, while
they can buy tobacco freely anywhere, the vaping product that is up to 95% safer is licensed through a pharmacy. It makes absolutely no sense. The negative
consequence of considering such a thing will take us backwards years."
Recently, Australia introduced a new law that restricts the sale of all types of vapes exclusively to pharmacies, as part of an effort to eliminate
recreational vaping nationwide.
Controversially, pharmacies will soon be permitted to sell nicotine vapes without requiring a prescription under this law.
Although this initiative aims to improve national health, it has angered pharmacists, who fear it will ultimately turn their premises into modern-day tobacconists.
"This is just going to create more hassle for me," a senior pharmacist told The Times.
In response to mounting concerns about a new generation becoming addicted to nicotine, the Labor government last Monday implemented a ban on the sale of all vapes,
whether they contain nicotine or not, outside of pharmacies.
Australia has become the first country in the world to enact such a measure.
The UK government has decided to ban disposable vapes to tackle the rise in youth vaping and protect children's health, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak
announced on Sunday (28 January 2024) during a visit to a school.
Official figures revealed that the number of children using vapes has tripled in the past three years, with nine per cent of 11 - to 15-year-olds now affected
by this rising trend.
Disposable vapes are believed to be mainly driving the worrisome rise in youth vaping, with the number of 11- to 17-year-old vapers using disposables estimated
to have increased by almost ninefold in the last two years.
Sunak said: "As any parent or teacher knows, one of the most worrying trends at the moment is the rise in vaping among children, and so we must act before it
becomes endemic.
"The long-term impacts of vaping are unknown and the nicotine within them can be highly addictive, so while vaping can be a useful tool to help smokers quit,
marketing vapes to children is not acceptable."