LONDON — The UK government launched a 12-week consultation on plans to restrict vaping products to reduce their appeal to children and young people. The proposals include limiting packaging colors and flavor descriptions, and requiring vapes to be kept out of sight in shops.

Health Secretary James Murray stated, "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." The proposed regulations include restricting vape device colors to white, black, or grey. The consultation outlines plans for white packaging for vapes, with restrictions on text color, imagery, branding, and standardized product information. Flavor descriptions would be restricted to simple names such as "apple," and names linked to sweets, desserts, and alcohol would be banned.

Steve Turner, President of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, supported these measures. Turner said, "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." Hazel Cheeseman, Chief Executive of Action on Smoking and Health (Ash), also affirmed the need for such restrictions. "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," Cheeseman said.

A poll conducted for Ash found that 19% of individuals aged 11-17 in Britain have tried vaping. A study led by researchers at UCL and King's College London, published in Lancet Regional Health Europe, indicated that 53% of children and young people aged 11 to 18 said their peers would be interested in trying vapes in their usual packaging. This interest dropped to 38% when shown standardized packs with usual flavor descriptions. The study also found that adult interest in trying vapes remained consistent regardless of whether the packaging was plain or branded.

The consultation also proposes enforcing plain packaging rules on all tobacco products, including rolling paper and cigars. This expands on standardized packaging for cigarettes, which has been in effect in the UK since 2017. Additionally, the plans suggest removing exemptions that currently allow duty-free shops and airports to display tobacco products. The consultation also includes proposals for inserts in cigarette packs that would direct smokers to resources for quitting.