A professor in Dublin, Ireland, has expressed his concerns about young people because he says TikTok is promoting e-cigarettes.

Professor Des Cox, chair of the Tobacco Policy Group at the Royal College of Physicians, is concerned about the growing trend of under-18s vaping and believes social media plays a role.

He said there is a big problem with the marketing of single-use e-cigarettes, and in a recent study, the most common form of advertising was through TikTok. The manufacturer's strategy is that they try to get young people hooked on these devices. This is where the problem lies.

Although Professor Cox says e-cigarettes are less harmful than cigarettes, he still thinks it's a big problem.

“When you look at studies of people switching to e-cigarettes, about 40 to 50 percent of people continue to smoke, which is what we call dual users,” he added.

"Long-term vaping has significant effects on the heart and lungs. We're going to see that. It doesn't happen overnight. They have unique chemicals in them, and they're different from tobacco, and we don't know what happens over time. What effects these unique ingredients will have on people.”

The professor stressed that it was becoming a child protection issue and that vaping could lead to smoking.

He said: A study of 4,000 children aged 15 to 16 found that 22% were e-cigarette users.

"It's now a child protection issue. A lot of research shows that they are attracted to the taste. Rather than making this habit in young children and young adults, they become addicted to nicotine, and they have a hard time breaking the habit. "

A 2021 study published in the BMC Journal of Public Health found a rapid increase in teen vaping, with the number of current vapers jumping from 10% to 18% between 2015 and 2019.

It was also found that more than 33% of teens said they had tried e-cigarettes in 2019, but less than a quarter in 2015, which means the number rose from 23% to 37%.