Parliament
Vaping, vapes and tobacco harm reduction were discussed during recent debates on the use of ecigs in schools and recycling
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by Dave Cross
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During the debate about vaping in schools, the DUP’s Jim Shannon asked the Secretary of State for Education whether he has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care about vaping in schools.
Nick Gibb, the Minister of State for Education replied: “Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
“The Government is concerned about an increase in pupils vaping, particularly the use of illicit vapes containing lead getting into the hands of pupils. Plans have therefore been announced to reduce youth vaping.
“There will be increased education and dedicated school police liaison officers to keep illegal vapes out of schools, and rules around the sale of nicotine free vapes and fines for shops selling illicit vapes will be reviewed.
“Officials in the Department have engaged with officials in the Department of Health and Social Care to discuss vaping as part of health education, which includes content on drugs, alcohol and tobacco.
“The Department has brought forward the review of the Relationships, Sex and Health Education statutory guidance, which commenced in March 2023.
“The Department expects new draft statutory guidance to be published for consultation in the autumn, with a view to it coming into force in 2024.”
During the recycling debate, Hendon’s Matthew Offord asked the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if it will become policy to allocate a proportion of the fees collected through the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment recycling scheme to improve rates of recycling of vaping products.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Rebecca Pow said: “The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations already place obligations on producers of electrical equipment, including vapes, to finance the collection and treatment of these products when they become waste.
“We will shortly consult on changes to the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations to consider what, if any, changes to that legislation are needed to ensure the vaping sector specifically plays its part in properly financing the cost of collection and treatment of their products when they become waste.
“As part of that consultation, we will also consider measures aimed at driving up levels of collection of household WEEE, including vapes, to ensure more of it is properly recycled.”
During regular parliamentary activity, Knowsley’s George Howarth asked the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care what assessment has been made of the efficacy of smoking cessation products and approaches. He also wanted to know what future research the Department has commissioned into the efficacy of those products and approaches.
Under-Secretary Neil O'Brien told him: “The assessment of the efficacy of smoking cessation products and approaches are presented in the evidence review for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline ‘Tobacco: preventing uptake, promoting quitting and treating dependence’.
“Through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), the Department regularly commissions research into the efficacy of smoking cessation products and approaches. Active NIHR projects include:
- Effectiveness of Electronic Cigarettes compared with combination nicotine replacement therapy for smoking cessation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease And effect on Lung health (ECAL study);
- Effects of e-cigarettes vs usual care for smoking cessation when offered at homeless centres: A cluster randomised controlled trial;
- Cessation of Smoking Trial in the Emergency Department (CoSTED); and
- Do e-cigarettes help smokers quit when not accompanied by intensive behavioural support?
“The NIHR is also the largest funder of the Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group which conducts systematic reviews of the evidence on interventions to prevent and treat tobacco addiction.”
The work produced by the Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group has shown increasing levels of evidential support for vaping.
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.
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