Fermanagh and Omagh District Council has unanimously backed a Sinn Fein Motion around the growing public health crisis of children and young people vaping.

Proposed by Councillor Barry McElduff, the Motion called for the Council to convene an urgent roundtable meeting with the Public Health Agency, the Department of Health, the Department of Education, the Education Authority and other relevant bodies and stakeholders to address the growing health crisis.

It further noted that many vaping products are designed to be attractive to children and are all addictive, damaging to health and may contain harmful substances.

The Motion reaffirmed the Council’s ban on vaping at sites and premises under its control and sought to strengthen current legislation regarding the sale of vaping products and associated enforcement regulations.

Finally, it noted that disposable vapes are increasingly being discarded in public, thereby presenting a further threat to the environment.

Councillor McElduff said: “We are all aware to varying degrees that vaping is bad for health.

“Very little research has been done in the [age] 11-17 category, but I’ve read how one in five 15-year-olds vaped in 2021, and the current figure is expected to be much higher.

“The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health said disposable vapes should be banned because of their popularity with children, particularly thanks to their bright colours, sweet flavours and low prices.

“One vape can be the equivalent of 28 cigarettes, and that would be smoked in one day by a young teenager.”

He continued: “This is a massive crisis of our time. A local teenager told me he vapes and has easy access. It is a stress-reliever.

“He spends £6 per day on them … I would like young people to be at the centre of this debate. We’re not attacking them – we are trying to help.

“Apparently vaping is fashionable, but it’s fashionable for 11- and 12-year-olds, so we need to do something about it.”

Seconding, party colleague Councillor Stephen McCann said: “I think it’s time this is brought forward for debate. It would scare any parent to hear their 12-year-old saying, ‘I need to vape’.

“This is going to be an emerging crisis in our young people. It’s a new thing, and time hasn’t had a chance to show what the side effects of vaping long-term will be. It’s deeply worrying.

“Early research suggests it’s linked to cardio-vascular and respiratory tissue damage. [Vapes] contain nicotine, which is addictive, and children and young people are especially vulnerable.

“Other drugs such as alcohol, synthetic cannabinoids and opiates can be added and consumed through vaping.

“That’s really scary, being available to our young people.”

Ulster Unionist Councillor Mark Ovens told members: “No kid of any age should be smoking, whether it’s cigarettes or vapes.

“Nicotine is a highly addictive substance, and there’s no doubt e-cigs have helped people of an older generation to move away from tobacco-related products, but the jury’s still out around long-term implications.

“In 2021, the Ulster Unionist Party put a legal statutory rule through the Assembly prohibiting the sale of e-cigs to under-18s.

“It’s madness to think until then any young person could buy them.”

He also suggested vapes are kept away from display in shops, which may make them more difficult for young people to see and be attracted to purchasing.

Councillor Bernard McGrath, SDLP, said: “Vaping is increasingly in popularity in some young people, including those aged under 18 who have been obtaining vapes illegally.

“It’s very clear the bright and colourful packaging is attractive to young people … Some illegal products can contain high volumes of lead, nickel and chromium, which can affect the central nervous system and brain development.

“Government has been behind the curve, and action is needed to address health issues and protect our young people from potential harm.”

Alliance Councillor Eddie Roofe said initially vapes were quite useful in helping long-term smokers to move away from cigarettes, “but now we’re on long-term vapes”.

Continuing, he said: “They have just really substituted their smoking addiction for vape addiction. It’s still nicotine, and overall the risks may be lower but we really don’t know the full affects at this stage.

“The marketing of these products is clearly favourable towards young people … They are eye-catching and anyone below the age of 18 should not be anywhere near them.”

While he stresses the regulation of products in the UK makes them safer than other countries, the United States has gone further and banned all flavoured vapes, except those with menthol, because of the promotion towards young people.

Final speaker, Democratic Unionist Councillor Mark Buchanan, said: “The health impacts of vaping are unknown and there is a big problem in our schools, society and communities in general.

“We must do what we can to highlight the issues and dangers, and try to work with our young people to steer them in the right direction away from these substances.

“Also, as a Council through our enforcement teams, checks should continue to be carried out to ensure [such vaping] products can’t be sold to those underage.  It seems young people have very free access to these vapes.”

The Motion was supported across the Chamber.