Vaping and e-cigarettes: Retired GP calls for guidance for Northern Ireland schools after Rishi Sunak clamps down on free samples for children

which allows retailers in England to give free vaping samples to children. There will also be a review into the rules around the sale of "nicotine-free" products to under-18s in England.

The move comes after the BBC reported that used vapes gathered at Baxter College in Kidderminster contain high levels of lead, nickel and chromium.

The Inter Scientific laboratory, in Liverpool, analysed 18 vapes and found most broke the law on permitted levels of metals and had not gone through any kind of testing before being sold in the UK.

Dr Kyle said he was not aware of any problems with free samples being issued in Northern Ireland.

However his main concern for teenagers was focussed on disposable vapes.

"We know that the vast majority of vapes being used by teenagers are disposable," he said. "So banning disposable vapes would dramatically reduce the sale of vapes to teens. Scotland has been looking at this very approach recently.

"It is also clear that schools still have no guidance on how to handle this issue from the Public Health Agency. In my view they should simply be banned in schools."

He said there is no form of registration for retailers in Northern Ireland so therefore it is difficult to enforce the current legal age requirements.

"Vapes are also available online which is where many young people get them, and this is obviously also difficult to monitor.

"Plus, there are also no facilities in Northern Ireland to assess the contents of these vaping fluids."

He recently had a motion passed on the matter at Belfast City Council which has resulted in the formation of a taskforce on the issue which includes the PSNI, Department of Health and Public Health Agency, he said.

"At the moment the situation is like the wild west," he added.

The Public Health Agency (PHA) responded that it is concerned that local and national health surveys show growing numbers of children are regularly using e-cigarettes.

"Frequent contact from schools in the region provides further evidence of the need for support for not only schools- but for the children and young people and also concerned family members," a spokesperson said.

The PHA has recently started a research project in schools in Northern Ireland in relation to vaping ( www.pha.site/Vapingsurvey ) which will also help with a better assessment of the situation, he said.

The agency said it will launch related resources and provide an update on support services during the summer. In the meantime, it said, interim information on e-cigarettes can be found on the PHA website.

The Department responded that it introduced regulations in February 2022, which banned the sale of tobacco and vaping products to children - and banned adults buying such products for them. These regulations are enforced by local councils, it said.

A spokesperson said it would examine the Prime Minister's proposals "in more detail". Work is already underway to explore the opportunities for a post primary education programme regarding vaping, they added.