Ban on e-cigarettes for under 18's

Monday 28 September 2015

It'll soon be illegal for young smokers to buy e-cigarettes in Jersey.

The Island is following the UK and introducing a ban on the sale of them to under 18's to try to reduce teenagers' access to them.

The number of people puffing away on battery-powered e-cigarettes has grown considerably and stats show that more teens are picking up an e-cigarette habit in the US than a tobacco one because they think they are cool and better for you.

Although it's likely that they are less harmful than tobacco, we still don't really know what's in e-cigarettes or what damage they could do and the Health department wants young people to stop puffing away on them.

Head of Health Improvement Martin Knight says given the current questions over their safety and health risks it is the responsibility of the States of Jersey to protect Children and Young people from the known and unknown future harms of these products.

The pen-like vaporisers work by essentially pumping nicotine into your system without burning anything. They've got a battery, atomiser and a cartridge and are filled with nicotine suspended in propylene glycol and water. When the user sucks on it, the liquid is heated to create a nicotine vapour they inhale.

The UK ban to restrict the sale to under 18's comes into force on 1 October and the Health Minister urgently wants Jersey to follow suit.