Experts have referred to as for harder curbs on e-cigarette advertising after a survey discovered kids had been more and more being uncovered to shows in retailers.

They need vaping merchandise put out of sight from minors.

Two-thirds of teenagers aged 11 to 18 mentioned that they had seen vapes in supermarkets final yr, up from 57 p.c in 2018.

The proportion who had seen tobacco merchandise on sale fell from 67 to 59 p.c.

Research chief Dr Anthony Laverty, from the School of Public Health at Imperial College London, mentioned: “These results highlight high levels of exposure to tobacco and e-cigarettes among children as well as ease of access.

“There needs to be greater enforcement of existing laws on the display of tobacco, as well as action to stem e-cigarette advertising and put vapes out of sight and reach of children.”

It is unlawful to promote vapes to under-18s, however NHS figures for 2021 confirmed practically 10 p.c of 11 to 15-year-olds had used them.

The group at Imperial analysed information from Action on Smoking and Health. It confirmed that 43 p.c of youngsters who used e-cigarettes obtained them from small retailers, 17 p.c purchased them on-line and 12 p.c at supermarkets.

Study co-author Prof Nicholas Hopkinson, from the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial, mentioned an excise tax needs to be launched on disposable vapes “to stop them being available at pocket money prices”.

Vaping is way much less dangerous than smoking, however the well being impacts aren't but totally understood. The analysis was funded by Cancer Research UK and revealed within the journal Tobacco Control.