Caption: Children under FIVE are being admitted to hospital for vapingGETTY
Toddlers are becoming so ill from vaping that they are ending up in hospital, the latest NHS England statistics have revealed.
There were 50 admissions for vaping related disorders involving children in 2023 – including 11 aged four or under.
Experts warned this is a ‘totally predictable consequence of the Tory government’s decision to allow a vaping free for all’.
In 2020, no pre-schoolers were given hospital treatment for using the e-cigarettes – and only six children needed hospital help.
But total admissions of all people – kids and adults – for such disorders has soared by 276% in the four years since 2020.
In 2020, admissions of kids made up just 6% of total admissions, but last year 14% of the 365 vape-related hospital admissions related to patients aged 19 and under.
MPs have backed a plan to ban anyone born after 2009 from buying cigarettes (Picture: EPA)
And between 2020 and 2024, there was a 733% increase in the total number of children who are being submitted to hospital for vape-related disorders.
Professor of paediatric respiratory medicine at Queen Mary University of London, Jonathan Grigg, co-authored a paper in 2023 warning that children who use vapes are ‘more likely to take up tobacco smoking’.
He said: ‘This increase in hospitalisations is a totally predictable consequence of the government’s decision to allow a vaping free for all – with flavours designed to be attractive to children and young people and the disastrous assumption that vaping has little or no adverse health effects.’
It comes as MPs have backed a plan to ban anyone born after 2009 from buying cigarettes, effectively ensuring it will become law in the future.
Sarah MacFadyen, head of policy and public affairs at Asthma + Lung UK said the figures were ‘deeply worrying’.
She added: ‘Asthma + Lung UK emphasises our stance: it is already illegal to sell vapes to under 18s, and we strongly discourage non-smokers, especially children, from starting vaping.
‘It is crucial that the government takes action to prevent the vaping industry from marketing their products towards children.
‘Enforcement of the age of sale laws is also a problem and should be better resourced so that young people cannot access vapes.
‘Our top priority is protecting the health of young people from the dangers of tobacco and preventing young people starting vaping.’
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