Vaping is making boys and girls under the age of five so sick that they wind up in hospitals; over the course of four years, the number of under-20s seeking treatment has increased by 733%. 50 children were admitted to hospitals last year for diseases related to vaping, 11 of them were under the age of four.
at 2020, only six children required hospital assistance, and no preschoolers received treatment at a hospital due to e-cigarette use. According to data from NHS England, in the four years since 2020, the total number of admissions for these disorders—including those of adults and children—has increased by 276%.
According to data disclosed under a FOI, children’s admissions accounted for a mere 6% of all admissions in 2020. However, individuals under the age of 19 accounted for 14% of the 365 hospital admissions connected to vaping last year.
Additionally, the overall number of youngsters admitted to hospitals for vape-related diseases increased by 733% between 2020 and 2024. It coincides with the backing of a measure by MPs to outlaw the sale of cigarettes to anybody born after 2009, almost guaranteeing its eventual passage into law.
Experts claimed that the “government’s decision to allow a vaping free for all” and the kid-friendly flavours were to blame for the growth in youth vaping. 2023 saw the co-authorship of a report by Queen Mary University of London paediatric respiratory medicine professor Jonathan Grigg, which included a warning that children who use vapes are “more likely to take up tobacco smoking”.
“This increase in hospitalisations is a totally predictable consequence of the government’s decision to allow vaping free for all,” he stated. “The government made the disastrous assumption that vaping has little to no adverse health effects and created flavours that are appealing to children and young people.” The statistics are quite concerning, according to Sarah MacFadyen, head of policy and public affairs at Asthma + Lung UK.
She continued, “Asthma + Lung UK emphasises our stance: we strongly discourage non-smokers, especially children, from starting to vape. It is already illegal to sell vapes to under-18s.” In order to stop the vaping business from selling its goods to children, the government must act.
Another issue is the enforcement of age-of-sale legislation, which needs more resources to prevent youth access to vapes. Our main goals are to shield youth from the harmful effects of tobacco use and to stop them from starting vaping.
According to data received by news agency SWNS through a FOI, 97 individuals were admitted to hospitals in 2020, with one patient aged 10 to 14 and five between the ages of 15 and 19. About 300 persons were admitted in 2021, 19 of them were children: three were under the age of ten, and sixteen were between the ages of ten and nineteen.
This increased to 457 persons in 2022, including 50 children. Nine children aged 10 to 14 and twenty aged 15 to 19 were among the 19 youngest group of admitted patients. There were two children aged five to nine. The count was 365 in 2023, with 50 children once again. There were 27 admissions between the ages of 15 and 19 and 12 admissions between the ages of 10 and 14.
For 2024, only January’s admissions have been made public. Three of the twenty admissions were those who were 19 years of age or younger. Hospital admissions for vaping-related issues now more often involve females than males.
Women made up 46% of admissions in 2020 compared to 57% last year.
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