𝗔𝘁 𝘆𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗮𝘆’𝘀 𝗪𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗦𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘅 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗜 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝗻:

“How is the council addressing the alarming rise in youth vaping across West Sussex secondary schools, and what public health campaigns are in place targeting under-18s specifically?”

The response from the Cabinet Member was disheartening—a vague commitment to “get back” with details. This lack of immediate action is deeply concerning, especially given that 𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝟭 𝗶𝗻 𝟭𝟬 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗽𝘂𝗽𝗶𝗹𝘀 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝘃𝗮𝗽𝗲, according to NHS data .

This isn’t just a local issue—it’s a national failure. The previous Conservative government pledged £30 million annually to Trading Standards for enforcement against underage and illicit vape sales, but Freedom of Information requests reveal that n𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀.

𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿. It’s time for both local and national leaders to take decisive action against the youth vaping epidemic.