Our focus

Concerns about vaping in the UK are currently only debated in proportion to the immense harms of smoking. The explosion of recreational vaping in non-smokers, particularly young adults, is being ignored. This is not accidental and needs separate consideration from the needs of smokers.

This project aims to stimulate a fresh debate about the deliberate creation by companies of a new nicotine economy focused on vaping, pouches and snus for recreational use and its potential impact on young people, public health, the environment and our high streets.  

The Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty’s recommendation on vaping is simple and sensible - ‘if you don’t smoke, don’t vape’.   But like ‘drink responsibly’ and ‘gamble aware’, words are meaningless without robust policies, support and funding. We also aim to catalyse practical action on how to stop young adult non-smokers from vaping to begin with and understand and promote the best ways to help vapers quit.

What we will do

Communication

We will communicate our concerns and amplify the voices of young people, concerned citizens and health professionals about recreational vaping and potential policy solutions to emerging problems.

Advocacy:

The UK government is currently considering regulation which we think is too narrow and will not address the growing problem of recreational vaping in children and particularly young people.

We will advocate for a rethink of this regulation and work with others to explore the issues in more depth and promote appropriate recommendations to MP’s, parliament and stakeholders.

Collaboration

We are not experts in addiction but support is urgently needed to better understand how to stop young non-smokers from vaping to begin with and help vapers quit. We will work with experts to help design and promote materials to give young people quality information on vapes that resonates and understand how best to reach and help those who want to quit.