FLAVOURED vapes are luring primary school children in Ayrshire into nicotine addiction, it’s been claimed.

Ayr MSP Siobhian Brown says she’s been contacted by worried constituents reporting use of e-cigarettes among children as young as 11.

Ms Brown says that while she supports Scottish Government guidance on the use of ‘vapes’ as an aid to giving up smoking, she’s worried that the sweet flavorus of some products may be getting young people hooked on nicotine.

Ms Brown said: “At first, I noticed a surge in the use of e-cigarette, or vaping as it is commonly known, amongst teenagers in the street and outside of secondary schools. However, in recent months, constituents have been in touch about children as young as 11 vaping in primary school.

I was shocked to hear this, as it is illegal for anyone under 18 to buy e-cigarettes in Scotland.

“I recently met with charity ASH Scotland to discuss my concerns. A YouGov UK-wide survey of 2,613 children carried out for ASH in March 2022 showed current vaping rates among 11-17-year olds are up by almost double from 4 per cent in 2020 to 7 per cent in 2022. This is worrying.”

Sheila Duffy, chief executive of health charity ASH Scotland, added: “We share concerns about the upsurge in children and young people using vaping products, most of which contain nicotine that can be highly addictive.

“We strongly support the steps proposed by the Scottish Government to curb the promotion of recreational vaping products to protect youngsters from being lured into experimenting.

“We look forward to working with Siobhan to raise awareness about the importance of these restrictions with her fellow representatives in Holyrood.

“We owe it to forthcoming generations in Ayr and across Scotland to restrict the advertising and promotion – including at retail points of sale – to limit visibility of vapes.

“These products are not harmless for kids’ long-term health.”