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A local doctor is hopeful that an upcoming ban on disposable vapes will help curb their appeal to young people and refocus the product as a stop-smoking tool for adults – after new stats revealed that more than half of islanders aged between 16 and 34 had used the devices at least once.
Chris Edmond’s call for e-cigarettes to be marketed to adults who use tobacco rather than smoke-free young people comes after politicians unanimously backed a ministerial proposition last week to ban single-use vapes from 2025.
Dr Edmond, who is the medical director of WorkHealth, said: “I am hopeful that the ban on disposable vapes will also change the approach to marketing, and we will return to reusable vapes being sold to adults as a stop-smoking device only.”
Pictured: Dr Chris Edmond, the founder and medical director of WorkHealth, is a Jersey-based occupational health provider.
He added: “The marketing of vapes – with their bright colours, sweet flavours, and designs that allow them to be disguised as highlighter pens – has clearly been aimed at children rather than adults trying to stop smoking.”
Dr Edmond said he hoped the upcoming ban on single-use vapes in 2025 would change this by making e-cigarettes less appealing to young people.
“I think that once the disposable ones are banned, they will be far less appealing in any case,” he said.
Pictured: More than a quarter of adults surveyed last year reported they had used e-cigarettes at least once or twice. (Statistics Jersey)
Dr Edmond added that vapes should be seen as a “temporary tool to aid quitting rather than a life-long approach” – and said it would also be preferable to also refer users to the stop smoking service for support rather than encouraging them to start vaping.
His comments come after new data revealed that a quarter of 16- to 34-year-olds who have never smoked have tried vaping – a trend the doctor described as “worryingly high”.
The rise in vaping among young people contrasts with a steady decline in smoking over the last decade from 18% to 13%.
Pictured: Around one-in-eight adults in Jersey are smokers. (Statistics Jersey)
The recently published Jersey Opinions and Lifestyle Survey, which questioned 1,500 islanders about their thoughts and behaviours, revealed that over half of Jersey adults have never smoked – and that only one-in-eight adults are smokers.
Public Health Director Peter Bradley said this progress is a “positive development for the island’s health”, but acknowledged that vaping now poses a new challenge.
Pictured: Public Health Director Peter Bradley.
He said: “Vaping is known to be less harmful than smoking and is a useful method to help smokers quit.
“However, we have seen a rise in people choosing to vape, including young people.
“Although most young people don’t vape, we know we need to do more to protect our children and young people from the use of vapes and nicotine, while maintaining the appeal to adults who want to stop smoking.”
Professor Bradley added that a vaping awareness campaign would launch early next year alongside a new strategy on smoking and vaping.
Pictured: More than half of adults aged 16 to 34 years had used e-cigarettes at least once or twice. (Statistics Jersey)
He said: “We’re working closely with schools, parents, and young people to develop education, guidance, and support that will help address vaping among children and teenagers.”
The strategy will explore tighter regulation around reusable vapes and other nicotine products to prevent further uptake among young people.
Pictured: Around a tenth of adults who had never smoked had used or tried e-cigarettes, while a quarter of 16- to 34-year-olds who had never smoked tried them. (Statistics Jersey)
In 2021, Jersey politicians agreed to change the rules on the packaging of tobacco products.
This required all tobacco products to be supplied in standardised plain packaging to ensure it wasn’t promotional, in a move intended to discourage islanders from smoking.
But the same limitations have not yet been applied to vape marketing or packaging.
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