A quarter of children between 12 and 17-years-old in York have tried vaping, according to City of York Council officers.

The School Health and Wellbeing Survey, commissioned by the City of York Council, heard from almost 3,000 children about smoking and vaping habits.

The 2023 report showed that a quarter of children and young people in York aged 12 and 17-years-old had tried vaping at least once in their lives, up from around a fifth in 2021.

Peter Roderick, director of public health at the City of York Council, said: “Smoking is one of the biggest causes of death and illness in the UK.

“Vaping is significantly less harmful than smoking and is a safe and effective way to support smokers to quit.

“Therefore we see vaping as a tool to support smokers to quit, due to the vastly reduced risks.

“At the same time, it should not be promoted to anyone who currently does not smoke, especially children and young people.”

On April 16, MPs voted to ban anyone born after 2009 from buying cigarettes to create a “smoke-free generation”.

Health and Social Care Secretary, Victoria Atkins, said: “Too many people know someone whose life has been tragically cut short or irreversibly changed because of smoking, which despite significant progress remains the UK’s biggest preventable killer.

“The truth is that there is no safe level of tobacco consumption.

“It is uniquely harmful and that is why we are taking this important action today to protect the next generation.

“This bill will save thousands of lives, ease the strain on our NHS and improve the UK’s productivity.”

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill would also give the government new powers to tackle youth vaping by restricting flavours and regulating the way that vapes are sold and packaged to make them less appealing to children.

Professor Steve Turner, Royal College for Paediatrics and Child Health president, said: “By stopping children and young people from becoming addicted to nicotine and tobacco we decrease their chances of developing preventable diseases later in life, and will protect children from the harms of nicotine addiction.”