A Nantwich councillor has asked if Cheshire East has any plans to introduce a programme to help people quit vaping because of the rising numbers of young people using vapes.

Her comments came as a recent report showed the percentage of young people in Cheshire East claiming to vape regularly has almost doubled since 2020.

Cllr Anna Burton (Lab) asked if the smoking cessation programme could be expanded to include vaping.

She was speaking as the council was discussing recommissioning the integrated lifestyle service, which looks at four areas of concern, including smoking cessation.

The other areas are falls prevention, weight management and physical activity.

Cllr Burton said: "We've got an issue in Nantwich and across Cheshire East with lots of young people using vapes, and often they're quite toxic as well and I don't think a lot of people realise the risks involved with them."

She said a lot of smokers were moving from tobacco products and on to vaping but they were continuing to vape for a long time rather than it being a 'pathway away from tobacco products'.

"What could be done around tackling the issue of vaping in a health care setting and could that be part of the recommissioning of this and is that something that is being considered as part of the smoking cessation?" she asked.

Dr Matt Tyrer, director of public health, told today's (Monday) meeting of the adults and health committee: "Smoking-related harms are still one of the most damaging things to people's health and the primary goal of a smoking cessation service is to get people to stop smoking tobacco products.

Dr Matt Tyrer. (Photo: Cheshire East Council)

"Vaping, as an aid to quitting, can be a benefit in that situation.

"If we've got people who are smoking they're likely to get less harm from choosing a vape instead – but what we don't want people doing who have never smoked, is starting vaping…

"It's all about getting people on to the least harmful thing and where we can stop people getting on to anything harmful, so much the better."

Cllr Stewart Gardiner (Knutsford, Con) said if the council wanted to stop outlets which may be illegally selling vapes it needed to increase the number of enforcement officers.

"We can have as many people writing policies and having strategies in the council, all very highly paid, but if we've got nobody out there doing the enforcement it's absolutely pointless," he said.

The Knutsford councillor also said the committee had spoken almost exclusively about the smoking aspect of the contract it was looking to recommission.

He said Cheshire East has a significantly ageing population and 'we need to make sure whatever contract is awarded recognises the importance of helping our older people be safer in their local environment'.

He also referred to problems of obesity.

Figures in the report revealed that 55 per cent of Cheshire East residents are overweight or obese.

Cllr Gardiner said it was easy to go from carrying a few extra pounds to being overweight 'and we need to ensure there is expenditure to encourage people to eat fewer calories, to eat calories that are better for them and to be active'.

"I want to make sure that is as important element in the contract as it is to do with smoking," he said.

The committee approved the recommissioning of an integrated lifestyle service.

Details of the redesigned contract will be detailed in a briefing to councillors before it is rubber stamped.