Vape packaging and flavouring face restrictions under UK plans to reduce appeal to children

The health secretary, James Murray, says the use of colourful packaging and sweet flavours ‘might be aimed at young people’. Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images View image in fullscreen The health secretary, James Murray, says the use of colourful packaging and sweet flavours ‘might be aimed at young people’. Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images Vape packaging and flavouring face restrictions under UK plans to reduce appeal to children Ministers consider bringing e-cigarette laws in line with tobacco as data shows 20% of teenagers have tried vaping Vapes could be sold in plain packaging as part of a range of proposals to stop them being marketed to children. The UK-wide plans also include limiting device colours to white, black or grey, and keeping vapes out of sight in shops, according to the Department of Health and Social Care. Other potential changes include restrictions on flavour descriptions, allowing simple names such as “apple” while banning names linked to sweets, desserts and alcohol. My handbag burst into flames – and I found a surprising bright side | Zoe Williams Read more The health secretary, James Murray , told the Press Association that the government was launching a 12-week consultation about “our plans to make vaping less attractive for children and young people”. He said: “We all know that the way that some of the vaping products are promoted – the very colourful packaging and names that might be aimed at children and young people. That’s wrong because we want to make sure that, as well as being a smoke-free generation, we want children and young people not to start vaping in the first place.” Figures suggest that nearly 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). Prof Steve Turner, the president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health , welcomed the consultation. “For those of us working with children every day, it is clear that only strong and meaningful regulation will protect them from the harms associated with nicotine addiction,” he said. Hazel Cheeseman, chief executive of Ash, said: “Protecting children from harmful vape marketing is the right thing to do. Attractive, colourful branding and images have driven the appeal of vapes to children leading to an increase in use.” The Department of Health said the consultation includes plans for white packaging for vapes with restrictions on text colour, imagery, branding and standardised product information. View image in fullscreen Young people said in a study by UCL and King’s College London that their peers would be less likely to use vapes if they were sold in plain packaging. Photograph: Tolga Akmen/EPA Officials said the move follows the success of standardised packaging for cigarettes since 2017. The consultation also proposes inserts for cigarette packs telling smokers where to get help to quit and plans to enforce plain packaging rules on all tobac