Vapes to be put in plain packaging to protect children

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By Ella Pickover and Harriet Tolson, PA Media, and Erin Dean

Doctors have welcomed proposals for vapes to be put in plain packaging under plans to stop the devices being marketed to children.

Health officials have launched a consultation which also proposes that vape devices can only come in three colours: white, black or grey.

The UK-wide proposals will also see restrictions on flavour descriptions using simple names such as “apple” while banning names relating to sweets, desserts and alcohol.

The consultation also sets out plans to keep vapes out of sight in shops, health officials said.

The move was backed by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) and follows members of the British Medical Association backing a vote last month calling for plain packaging and other measures to restrict the appeal of vapes.

England’s chief medical officer, Professor Sir Chris Whitty, has said in the past that marketing vapes to children is “utterly unacceptable”.

Figures suggest that almost one in five (19%) 11–17-year-olds in Britain have tried vaping, according to a poll conducted on behalf of the charity Action on Smoking and Health (Ash).