Can you tell the difference between highlighter and vape? How 'gateway' e-cigs are being intentionally marketed to lure children

• BThe “highlighter vape” on the right is sold in kid-friendly flavors like bubble gum
• Figures show 9 per cent of 11 to 15 year olds in the UK already vape

Victoria Atkins today claimed that a ban on disposable e-cigarettes would help children “avoid the terrible temptations of a nicotine habit”.

The Health Secretary has insisted the Government's tough anti-vaping plan, due to be formally announced by Rishi Sunak later today, will help stop the UK's children's e-cigarette epidemic.

Under the same crackdown, stores will only be able to sell e-cigarettes in a limited number of flavors and in plain tobacco-style packaging.

E-cigarettes will have to be displayed out of sight, and there will be new “on-the-spot” fines for shops that illegally sell e-cigarettes to children.

Asked about future efforts, Atkins said: “It will help prevent people from starting to smoke in the first place.”

She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: “What I think is shocking to many parents is how cynically companies promote their products to children and young people.” he said.

Ms Atkins criticized the marketing of e-cigarettes in flavors like bubblegum and candy floss, and blamed the “very bright colors on the packaging.”

The vapes, which retail for just £3, have been compared to highlighters as they feature stylish displays in stores across the UK.

Brands like Elf Bar and Lost Mary are hugely popular among teenagers.

The number of children using e-cigarettes has tripled in the past three years. Figures show that 9 per cent of children aged 11 to 15 currently use e-cigarettes, but the long-term health effects are still unknown.

This is despite the fact that the sale of e-cigarettes to people under 18 is prohibited.

Experts welcomed the move, saying they “fully support” the approach and are “extremely pleased” that packaging restrictions have been put in place.

But some warn that “laws in this area should be nuanced and cautious” given that e-cigarettes can help cigarette smokers quit smoking.

Health campaigners have long called for tighter regulations on marketing to children and a tax on disposable e-cigarettes.

Mr Sunak said the ban on disposable e-cigarettes, which is expected to come into force by early 2025, was a balanced and “right” move.

“If you talk to parents and teachers, they will tell you about the alarming rise in e-cigarette use among children,” he told the broadcaster.

“Children shouldn't be vaping. We don't want them to become addicted, but we still don't fully understand the long-term health effects of vaping. ”

“So it is right that we take strong action to eradicate this.”

He dismissed concerns that the move could backfire and lead to more people smoking.

“It's important to preserve e-cigarettes for adult smokers who want to quit,” he said, describing the proposal as “balanced.”

“We are getting the balance right, supporting adult smokers to quit, but targeting everything that prevents children from accessing e-cigarettes.”

If implemented, the proposal would follow in the footsteps of other countries, including the United States and parts of Canada, which already restrict flavors.

The government claims rules inherited from the EU have led to a system in which e-cigarettes are routinely advertised and sold on a large scale to children.

The e-cigarette company's stock price has already fallen today following this announcement.

Chill Brands, which makes Chill Zero e-cigarettes and herbal-blended CBD cigarettes, saw its stock drop as much as 35 percent in early trading as a result, while rival Supreme's stock fell about 12 percent.

Chill's market value fell by more than £3m, while Supreme's valuation fell by more than £10m in morning trading.

E-cigarettes allow you to inhale nicotine in vapor. Steam is produced by heating a liquid, typically containing propylene glycol, glycerin, flavoring, and other chemicals.

Unlike traditional cigarettes, they contain no tobacco and do not produce tar or carbon, two of the most dangerous elements.

Although widely considered safer than smoking, the long-term effects of e-cigarettes remain a mystery.

Doctors have expressed concern that people who pick up the habit at a young age could face a wave of lung disease, dental problems and even cancer in coming decades.

Last year, leading pediatricians also warned that children were being hospitalized with breathing problems from vaping amid an “alarming” youth vaping epidemic.

NHS statistics show the number of children being admitted to hospital due to vaping is rising.

In the UK, 40 children and young people were admitted to hospital last year with “vaping-related illnesses” including lung damage and worsening asthma symptoms, up from 11 two years earlier, the NHS said.

Following today's announcement, Deborah Arnott, chief executive of Smoking and Health Action, said the ban “will need to be too strict to be effective as illegal e-cigarettes have already flooded the market”. “Crackdown” will be necessary, he said.

The government could not say when the bill would be introduced, saying it was trying to “coordinate timing across the UK”, but added that it was the government's intention to “pass the bill this Parliament”.

Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty said: “If passed, this bill will have a huge impact on public health for generations to come.”

But the wider proposals, which include plans to eventually ban children from legally buying cigarettes in the UK, have been criticized as a “nanny state” by critics and the Conservative Party.

Opponents include former prime minister Liz Truss, who said the government “should not seek an extension of the nanny state”.

He added: “While the state has a duty to protect children from harm, in a free society adults must be able to make their own choices about their lives.”

“Banning the sale of tobacco products to people born after 2009 creates an absurd situation in which adults enjoy different rights based on their date of birth.”

But asked today what message he had for the former prime minister, Mr Atkins told LBC radio: “Well, this is a big change.” We fully acknowledge this.

“I think this is pretty similar to the debate we had 10 years ago about whether adults could smoke in the car with children.

“There was a lot of discussion about that. But now, 10 to 12 years later, can we honestly say we're going back? Of course not.

“So if we go back further and discuss smoking in public places, we are not going back to the days of smoke-filled pubs.

“So this is one of the long-term decisions for the future that the Prime Minister wants to make, and the government is very, very ambitious.”