Kids are buying illegal vapes illegally

As the government opens an eight week public consultation on vaping and smoking regulation, the BBC runs a story about a 12 year old girl who was supposedly hospitalised as a result of vaping.

 

Never start vaping, says 12-year-old girl with lung damage

A 12-year-old girl who suffered a lung collapse and spent four days in an induced coma has told the BBC that children should never start vaping.

Sarah Griffin had asthma and was a heavy vaper when she was rushed to hospital with breathing problems a month ago.

There is always a frustrating lack of detail in articles such as this. There are a lot of vapers in Britain, but very few cases of lungs collapsing as a result, even among children. You don't need to read between the lines too much to see that there may be more to this than meets the eye. 

Sarah's asthma and the fact she was not good at using her preventative inhaler left her at risk of complications.

In early September she also developed a head cold, and when combined with her vaping, it all added up to what Sarah's doctor describes as a "perfect storm".

 

Make of that what you will. The BBC doesn't hammer the point home, but she was also using illegal, unregulated vapes that often contain chemicals that have been banned for health reasons.

Sarah had started vaping when she was just nine.

Her mum Mary tried to stop her - searching her when she came home, confiscating her phone - but nothing worked.

By the summer, Sarah was getting through a 4,000-puff vape (a regulation vape contains 600 puffs) in just a few days.

 

She was also buying these illegal vapes from shops at an age at which she was nowhere near old enough to do so.

 

Even though it's illegal to sell vapes to anyone under the age of 18, Sarah bought vapes over the counter and became addicted to the nicotine hit.

 

So once again, we see laws being blatantly flouted. Children are being illegally sold e-cigarettes and the e-cigarettes themselves are illegal. How about we start enforcing the laws that already exist before making new ones?