Retailers must act over lead risk in vaping products
Revelations that children could be inhaling twice the daily safe amount of lead by smoking vapes places a moral imperative on retailers to crack down on their sale to youngsters, say the Scottish Greens.
Health spokesperson Gillian Mackay MSP said newly published data revealing high levels of lead, nickel and chromium found in the e-liquid itself was a frightening new revelation after tests on illegal products.
Ms Mackay, who has been campaigning for a ban on disposable vapes in particular, said:
“The results from scientists are frightening and should serve as a wake up call over the new health emergency we are facing.
“The number of young people trying vaping in the UK has risen by fifty percent in the last year alone according to latest reports. That alone is extremely concerning, but if this growth is also increasing demand for a new breed of illegally produced products then that is horrific.
“We can’t allow manufacturers to use these findings as an advertising campaign to increase the sale of their money spinning ranges, because it is their marketing which lies at the heart of this growing problem.
“The appeal and lure of legal vapes are amplified by their placement in supermarkets and in other shops, which opens the door to these rogue products. That is why I ask again for retailers to do the right thing and hide them from view or ban them.
“It is only a matter of months since we saw vapes containing higher than the legal level of nicotine being removed from shop shelves. This new revelation shows the potential harm that vapes can cause.
“In light of this terrifying new evidence, supermarkets have a moral imperative to take action, and that must begin by clearing these products from view. They are a risk to health, bad for our environment, and a danger for generations to come.”
