Vaping: Call for new Guernsey e-cigarette safety laws

Health campaigners say vaping is on the increase among young people

Vaping in Guernsey should be regulated to ensure devices and their liquids are safe for users, health campaigners say.

The Health Improvement Commission's call comes as it also said there had been an increase in the number of young people using e-cigarettes.

It has called for the States to regulate them, while one politician has called for more research on what he called vaping's "devastating effects".

The States has been approached for a comment.

'Not safe'

Grace Lindsay, the commission's tobacco harm reduction officer, said without regulation people could not be sure of what was in the liquids being used.

She said: "If we don't have that regulation in place, then we can't ensure the products that people use are safe."

She added that the commission was "hearing anecdotally from professionals working with young people and from education bosses... that we have seen a large increase in vaping".

Deputy Liam McKenna said the States needed to do more to raise awareness of potential dangers, saying it was thought to have "devastating effects".

He said work was needed to ensure children and young people could not get hold of the devices.

He said: "We've got 11 and 12 year olds who have access to this, and think it's a trendy and safe thing to do, is wrong.

"I believe, and so do a lot of the medical experts, that vaping reduces your life-term and your quality of life."

The idea of regulating e-cigarettes was approved by the States in 2015.

No new plans for e-cigarette regulation are being considered, the BBC understands, but it is illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to buy tobacco products.

Follow BBC Guernsey on Twitter and Facebook. Send your story ideas to [e-mail].