Health fears as Wigan children as young as eight found vaping

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Wigan primary school-aged children dabbling with vaping left a health worker and voicing concerns about parental neglect.

Geoff Goodman was stunned to find out that pupils as young as eight and nine have been using e-cigarattes – whose sale is banned to under-18s – bought by their parents.

Geoff Goodman from Be Well Wigan, a council-run organisation which helps people quit smoking, said: “I attended a primary school where eight and nine-year-olds where vaping - some had even been bought by their parents.

"There just isn’t enough knowledge about the damage it causes young people.”

Julie Platt another health worker said: “Vapes have no clear indicator about how much nicotine is in them - which is the addictive part of smoking.”

These revelations come after a 2025 NHS report highlighted that 25 per cent of 11 to 15-year-olds have tried e-cigarettes.

The report outlined the dangers it poses to children. These include inflammation of the airways, triggering respiratory conditions such as asthma and causing damage young people’s brains.

Sarah Sleet chief executive of Ashma+ Lung UK said : “The number of non-smokers, particularly young people, taking up vaping is extremely worrying. The long-term impact of vaping on the lungs isn’t yet known, so research into its effect on young people, is really important.”

The NHS announcement coincided with £62m investment into adolescent health funded by UK Research and Innovation.

This will be done by tracking 100,000 young people aged eight to 18 over a 10-year period to collect data including the impact of vaping.

Be Well Wigan staff said this shows why the council work is so important.

A Wigan mum, who did not wish to be identified said: “I don’t know what some parents are playing at buying vapes for their children, especially at such a young age.

"Maybe it’s some misguided belief that there’s an inevitability that they will eventually start smoking cigarettes and it’s better to wean them onto something thought to be safer.

"Either that or they think they are totally harmless. But either way these thought processes could be catastrophically wrong.”

Last year Wigan Today reported about Shevington High School pupil Nathan Chesworth who ended up in intensive care after suffering a collapsed lung from vaping.