Tobacco and Vapes Bill

Written Evidence Submitted by ASH Wales Cymru to the Tobacco and Vapes Public Bill Committee (TVB65).

Written evidence submitted by ASH Wales Cymru: Tobacco & Vapes Bill 2024.

ASH Wales Cymru is the only organisation solely dedicated tobacco control in Wales. Established in 1976, we work to raise awareness of the health, social and economic effects of smoking by working closely with communities, young people and partner organisations across Wales to create change for the better.

Summary:

1. One in ten of ALL deaths among over 35s in Wales is attributable to smoking. Every year in Wales, this equates to 3,845 preventable deaths.

2. ASH Wales remains committed to the Smokefree 2030 target set by Welsh Government, but we recognise this ambition cannot be met without urgent and radical action beyond what is already being done.

3. ASH Wales supports all measures contained in the Tobacco & Vapes Bill to eradicate the devastating harms of tobacco use, which continue to hit our most disadvantaged communities hardest. Data Published by ASH Wales in 2024, shows that 9% of Welsh homeowners smoke, compared to 30% of adults who live in social housing.

4. ASH Wales 2024 evidence on public opinion in Wales shows that raising the age of sale for tobacco products has the support of 62% of adults in Wales, 15% are opposed. In addition, our polling of smaller independent retailers in Wales shows 58% support raising the age of sale.

Youth Vaping in Wales:

5. We would particularly like to draw committee’s attention to new evidence on youth vaping in Wales.

The ASH Wales Youth Vaping Survey 2024 received 12,524 respondents from 65 schools and demonstrates the extent of the issues we face, the levels of support required for our young people and the efforts required in enforcement.

6. We found highly significant predictors of vaping in school children that would help design more targeted interventions for those at highest risk.

7. The ASH Wales Youth Vaping Survey confirms the increasing prevalence of vaping in Wales, which is now perceived as ‘common’ among most pupils, with many reporting ‘very easy or easy’ access to vaping products.

8. Almost a quarter of all pupils who responded had tried vaping, with around 1 in 11 reporting regular (at least weekly) use; females were more likely to vape in every age group.

There is a significant link between vaping and smoking among the young people who responded. 37% of current vapers in year 7-11 also reported being current smokers – compared to 3% of all pupils year 7 to 11.

In addition:

 • A total of 73% of current vapers had experience of smoking

• Only 5% of current vapers reported to have quit smoking 

 • A significant percentage of current vapers (22%) report being never smokers

9. Unlike most other large scale population surveys on vaping, the ASH Wales survey provides much more context into the sources of their vapes, the motivations and habits of young vapers.

10. Informal sources, such as friends and family, are the most common channel for obtaining vapes but many use shops or the internet.

11. The vast majority of vapers use nicotine containing devices with many now reporting they are unable to go without vaping throughout the school day.

12. More than half (55%) of all pupils that vape reported using vaping products that are highly likely to be illegal, unregulated products that contain over 600 puffs.

13. Concerns have been raised that the rise in vaping is attributable, at least in part, to the marketing and availability of disposable vapes, which have rapidly become the preferred vaping device for children and young people. The survey back s these claims.

14. Concerns have also been raised about device safety and quality, with increasing numbers of non-compliant vaping devices/ consumables seized by trading standards teams in Wales often containing higher levels of contaminants and nicotine than those permitted by UK law.

15. The suggestion of likely addiction fits with the multiple (media) reports of concerns from teachers and parents who are experiencing significant challenges in managing behaviour. Nicotine dependence which is disruptive to day-to-day life and learning, is being seen by those working directly with learners as becoming more common.

16. Recommendations from the Wales IRG , which we support, includes targeted education campaigns, stricter regulations, and support for young people to quit vaping and smoking as well as the publicised sustained annual increase in the minimal age of smoking. Our survey showed that pupils who currently vape were twice as likely to live with a smoker or a vaper than pupils who had never vaped (66% vs 32%)

17. Addressing informal sources of vapes (family and friends) more than just retailers and understanding the influence of age, gender and social (smoking) environments are also crucial strategies.

Retail Licensing in Wales:

18. Over the years, regulation and laws on cigarette promotion and price have played a huge part in tobacco control.

19. But in today’s market, with the explosion in unregistered retail outlets and a surge in youth vaping, a fresh approach is needed and we must meet the scale of this growing challenge.

20. We support the Tobacco & Vapes Bill measures for retail licensing.

21. Until now, tackling the availability of cigarettes and vapes in our communities has been very much a poor relation. A retail licensing scheme for Wales could help address that gap to particularly support people living in our most disadvantaged communities.

22. At the moment, we don’t know for sure if the most disadvantaged areas of Wales have the highest density of tobacco retailers and vape shops. We can guess, because of what we see in our communities, but we lack true evidence.

23. Local availability of cigarettes matters enormously to health.

24. Knowing exactly where these products are being sold, and by whom, is important for public health teams to make sure precious NHS resources are being used in areas of greatest need.

25. A retail licensing scheme would give us new and previously unavailable data for where the most nicotine is being sold in Wales – allowing smoking cessation efforts to be targeted directly in those communities.

26. When surveyed in 2024 by ASH Wales, 86% of people questioned said they support a retail scheme for tobacco products. Crucially, this includes 65% of current smokers in Wales and 74% of current vapers.

Smoke-free Spaces, vape-free places and other free-from places:

27. We believe all existing smoke-free spaces in Wales should be extended to headed tobacco-free places. Any and all attempts by the tobacco industry to argue heated tobacco is a "safer" product must be resisted and rebuffed. All tobacco harms health, and any novel heated tobacco products should not be allowed to circumvent any new and future tobacco regulations.

28. When it comes to vape-free spaces, we woild support a national consultation on extending some smoke-free spaces to become vape-free spaces. We recognise this as a useful policy to de-normalise vaping in some areas of our environment, particularly around children.

29. However, we have concerns over extending smoke-free to vape-free in some settings, including hospital grounds and in-patient mental health settings. We believe exceptions could be made in these areas, to take into account the needs of the tobacco and nicotine dependent smoker, whose treatment and wellbeing may benefit from the additional harm reduction support vaping could offer. This should always be coupled with appropriate and longer term smoking cessation support.

30. Treating vapes in exactly the same way as tobacco comes with the potentially unintended consequence of exacerbating current worrying misperceptions of harm. The ASH Wales Annual Survey 2024, revealed there is a sizeable proportion of adults in Wales who believe that vapes are just as harmful, or more harmful than tobacco cigarettes. The percentage who feel this way has grown from 25% in 2017 to 46% in 2024. This is consistent among smokers, with 43% who felt this way, again a significant increase from 14% of smokers in 2017. It’s also important to note that almost a quarter of current smokers, 23%, said they did not know whether vapes were more harmful, less harmful or just as harmful as regular cigarettes.

Conclusions:

31. ASH Wales Cymru supports the full implementation of the Tobacco & Vapes Bill in Wales.

32. We believe the additional measure of mandatory age verification for all should be included for the sale of all existing and future tobacco and nicotine products.

33. We believe the granting of a tobacco or nicotine retail licence should be conditional.

34. We recommend a fully funded, bilingual, mass communications campaign across Wales to explain the legislation and counter misperceptions around the relative risks of tobacco and vapes to both retailers and the public.

January 2025.