Children given vape warning after 20,000 seized

More than 20,000 vapes have been seized in Leicestershire since 2022

Children in Leicestershire are being warned of the dangers of vaping after about 20,000 illegal devices were seized in the county.

The county's Trading Standards team set out to reduce how many were sold to underage children after a 2022 survey found that a quarter of under 18s in the county had tried a vape.

The warning also comes after a student who reportedly used a vape at school was taken to hospital after falling ill.

Ryan Langley, stop smoking service team leader at Public Health Leicestershire, said children should "categorically" not be using vapes.

The survey, completed by Public Health Leicestershire two years ago also found that one in seven children used vapes at least once a week.

Helen Donegan, senior trading standards officer, said unregulated vapes could be dangerous

Helen Donegan, senior trading standards officer, said the body was advising shops on selling vapes to children and removing illegal products being sold on the black market.

"We know what's in legal vapes that are registered with the Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)," she said.

"We don't know what's in these illegal vapes - what they contain, where they're from or what harm they can essentially do.

"But some have been tested nationwide and they're found to have extremely high levels of lead, nickel, chromium and also carbonyls - which are carcinogenic chemicals."

Pupils at Humphrey Perkins School in Barrow-upon-Soar, Leicestershire, were confined to classrooms for 30 minutes on 19 June after a child became unwell and needed emergency treatment.

Mr Langley, who lead's the county's stop smoking team, said there were toxins in some vapes which could be dangerous for users.

"Because vaping's been around for a short period of time, we're not fully aware of the longer term consequences it could have on the physical health of young people," he said.

"Categorically we're saying that vaping is not safe for children and young people under 18.

"Categorically, they should not be vaping."

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