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Sweet-inspired flavours, highlighter-style packaging, and a lack of regulation meaning products that are illegal in the UK can still be sold locally have helped spawn what one local doctor described as a "generation of nicotine-addicted kids" in Jersey.
While Minsters this week announced plans to ban disposable vapes, a joint investigation by Bailiwick Express and the JEP has exposed the significant work required to protect young islanders from the dangers of vaping – and how a significant opportunity was missed due to the pandemic.
The investigation, which you can read in full in today's Jersey Evening Post, also found:
Children finishing vapes equivalent to a 20-pack of cigarettes in a day
Vapes being confiscated from primary school age children – and highlighter-style packaging helping them smuggle products into school
Doctor's concern about new generation of young addicts
Calls for a crackdown on "predatory" packaging and store display rules
Among those backing action to tackle the problem are health professionals, teachers – and even the owner of a local vape store.
According to the Children and Young People's Survey in 2021, three in five 16 and 17-year-olds in Jersey admitted trying vapes at least once, while around one in three admitted using them occasionally/regularly.
While the 2023 edition is yet to be published, there are concerns from local educators that this figure will have risen even higher.
One primary school teacher said they were aware of vapes being confiscated from Year 5 and 6 children, while a secondary school teacher, who wished to remain anonymous, said she was concerned about the ease some children were able to smuggle vapes into school in pencil cases and bags.
She explained that some had the appearance of highlighters.
Pictured: Teachers are concerned about how some vapes had the appearance of highlighters – making it easier for them to be smuggled into schools in pencil cases and bags.
"I was walking down the corridor and I saw a student trip up. I went over and said, 'I think you've dropped your highlighter.' They glanced back at me and then ran off down the stairs. I walked into my next lesson and student excitedly said, 'OMG, is that yours, Miss?'" she recalled.
"Others joined in and one of them explained what it was to me: it was a disposable vape. I asked the students what they knew about it, and they explained that they cost about £10 and even told me the amount of nicotine in this brand.
"It was pink and yellow and looked like a sweet-coloured mini highlighter. Making them look so appealing to children is a cynical marketing ploy.
"Secondly, because they don't have scary pictures of cancers and warnings on them like cigarette packets do, I'm concerned that children think that they are just a bit of harmless fun and don't realise that vaping exposes users to some toxins of which we don't yet know what the long-term risks might be."
Pictured: Ahead of the new academic year, islanders were sharing a social media warning about vapes disguised as highlighters in local Facebook groups.
She continued: "Since this incident, I’ve educated myself and shared information when appropriate with students, such as the fact that nicotine is an addictive substance that can be hard to stop using once you have started.
"According to the NHS website, 'nicotine may be more risky for young people than for adults, as evidence suggests the brain in adolescence is more sensitive to its effects'. Also, I don’t know where the students are getting their vapes from. They may be illegal and not meet UK quality and safety regulations."
This article forms part of a joint Express and JEP investigation into the shocking lack of regulation in Jersey that could be exposing teens to dangerous levels of nicotine and creating a new generation of smokers.
You can read the full investigation in today and Monday’s Jersey Evening Post, in the paper itself or its online edition.
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