Vape pens have become “the new cigarettes” for children, the leader of an addiction treatment charity fears.

Leslie Grant, the executive director of Focus Counselling Services, said that electronic cigarettes have grown in popularity thanks to how discreetly they can be used.

He added that misinformation and a relatively small amount of research around their effects made it easy for people to overlook possible risks.

Mr Grant explained: “Cigarettes stink, and you have to have matches or a lighter. They’re more obvious.

“Our youth are using [vapes] because they’re being marketed as less harmful.

“They have great flavours, so they’re probably more attractive to children — and they are taking risks because they feel that these are low-risk or don’t think that anything can happen to them.”

His comments came after Tinée Furbert, the Minister of Youth, Social Development and Seniors, told the House of Assembly that children as young as 10 had been found with e-cigarettes.

Mr Grant said that a large and challenging part of the problem was curbing the availability of vape pens.

He claimed that some shops did not verify the ages of children who bought them.

Mr Grant added that, in other cases, people old enough to buy the devices might instead purchase them for young people.

He said: “They’re right behind the counter in just about every drugstore and some convenience stores, including gas stations.

“They’re just as available as a pack of cigarettes or a pack of chewing gum.”

Mr Grant added: “We all know that if they’re not able to buy them themselves, they’re having someone buy them for them or they get it from someone who buys in bulk and sells it to anybody.”

Mr Grant said that while research remained limited, the risk of addiction with vaping was known because of the presence of nicotine.

He said that the nicotine addiction could compel children to use vape pens wherever they pleased — even when if it left them at risk of expulsion from school.

Mr Grant added that studies suggested vaping could lead to respiratory problems, including a condition known as “popcorn lung”.

The disease, known formally as bronchiolitis obliterans, is an irreversible inflammation of the smallest airways of the lungs and leads to shortness of breath and lethargy.

Ms Furbert, who was speaking last week during a breakdown of her ministry’s budget for 2025-26, said that the Government’s Counselling Life Skills unit received 46 referrals for child substance use last year.

She noted that “a continuing trend of adolescents using vapes” was seen in 2024.

Ms Furbert said that of the 46 substance-related referrals, 43 received services. Of those, 18 were males and 25 females.

The minister said that there had been a trend in females using substances more than males, when traditionally the rate of usage was about even.

Mr Grant said that he had traditionally seen more males using substances than females because of a higher likelihood for boys to take risks.

He suggested that the increase in the use of substances, and particularly vapes, could be from the availability of and opportunity for discretion when using the devices.

Mr Grant said: “If you’re standing next to somebody and your back is towards them, they could vape right there and you’d never even know it, versus them smoking a cigarette and you’d know right away.”

He added: “I think with vapes as a whole it’s just about the discreet nature of them.

“They don’t have that strong cigarette smell and in some circles they’re not viewed the same way regular cigarettes would be viewed.

“At the end of the day, the nicotine is still there and everything else there is in the vapes.”

Mr Grant recognised that there had been an “overall decline” in substance use in children.

He believed that was offset by a “steady” use in cannabis products.

“I’d venture to say, anecdotally, there’s been an increase,” Mr Grant added.

“Some who come across our path are adamant that they’re going to continue using cannabis products because they don’t see the harm.”

Mr Grant said he hoped to see more legislation around checking the identification of people who buy nicotine or cannabis products.

He added: “They’re marketed as safer, less harmful and having medicinal properties. However, not every product is made the same.

“I would just hope that somehow, some way, we can minimise the access of these potentially addictive products to our youth.”