Schoolboy anti-vaping campaigner welcomes new ban

Walter launched his campaign in October and hopes to attract 10,000 signatures

A schoolboy who has been campaigning against the marketing of flavoured vapes says he is “excited” about a new government ban.

Disposable vapes are set to be banned, as part of plans to tackle the rising number of young people taking up vaping.

Eleven-year old Walter, from Stone, had launched a petition which amassed more than 2,300 signatures.

It is already illegal to sell vapes under 18s, but disposable vapes, often sold in colourful packaging, are a "key driver behind the alarming rise in youth vaping", the government said.

Walter believes the new ban will have a "massive impact" on preventing children from vaping

“I was really excited that they finally made a stop to flavoured vapes, I was really excited that they finally listened and decided to do something about it, " Walter told BBC Radio Stoke following Monday’s announcement.

He added: “When children are going into shops, they won’t see these colourful fruity vapes anymore, it will just be the plain normal vapes so I think it will make a massive impact on children.”

The devices were first introduced around 20 years ago, to help people overcome addiction to smoking cigarettes.

They have since gone on to form part of a multi-million pound industry, but concern has grown over the number of under-18s getting hold of them.

Walter, who started his petition in October, was calling for a ban on the flavoured vapes being marketed at children.

His mother Julie said: “He’s done a great job, I’m really proud of him, it's fantastic.”

“It’s basically restricting it for children so that they are not getting access at a young age and developing an addiction that can have long term consequences.”

An industry body said banning vapes would "turbo-charge" the black market, and that vapes have helped millions of people quit smoking cigarettes.

The UK Vaping Industry Association says it is "dismayed" by the plans

The proposals follow last year's announcement of a ban on the sale of cigarettes to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009 as part of an attempt to create a "smoke-free generation".

The latest changes would also introduce powers to stop refillable vapes being sold in a flavour marketed at children and to require that they be produced in plainer, less appealing packaging.

The government will also be able to mandate that shops display refillable vapes out of sight of children and away from other products they might buy, like sweets.

The UK Vaping Industry Association said it was "dismayed" by the government's announcement to ban vapes, adding that the devices have "played a key role in helping millions of adults quit and stay off cigarettes".