Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has made an assessment of the accuracy of information supplied with vapes about the level of nicotine they contain.

Vapes are substantially less harmful than cigarettes and can be an effective tool for adult smokers to quit. However, the Government is concerned about the worrying rise in vaping among children, with youth vaping tripling in the last three years. Due to nicotine content and the unknown long-term harms, vaping carries risks to health and lifelong addiction for children. The health advice is clear, young people and people who have never smoked should not vape.

The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is the competent authority for the notification scheme for vapes in the United Kingdom. Manufacturers of vapes must submit information such as nicotine content and dosage to the MHRA for approval and sale on the UK market.

To help tackle illicit products, we have set up a new illicit vapes unit to bolster our enforcement capacity in Trading Standards and undertake testing of products on the market. In addition, in October this year, we announced £30 million of new funding to enforcement agencies to tackle the illicit and underage sale of vapes and tobacco.