Chamber and committees

I congratulate my colleague Siobhian Brown on securing the debate. I know that she is doing much work on youth vaping. She laid out perfectly the issues around youth vaping, as Pauline McNeill described. I thank Asthma + Lung UK Scotland and ASH Scotland for their briefings ahead of the debate and for their work to improve lung health or respiratory health in Scotland.

This debate is about youth vaping. I am the co-convener of the lung health cross-party group and a registered nurse, so I am interested in the impact of vaping on lung health, especially given the very serious health concerns that have been expressed by medical experts and echoed around the chamber this evening.

I have amended and scored out loads of my speech because colleagues have covered the information already, but it is worth repeating that nicotine is the primary addictive component of tobacco cigarettes. Vapes do not burn tobacco and do not produce tar or carbon monoxide, which are two of the most damaging elements to health in tobacco smoke, but we know that e-cigarette use can have negative effects on respiratory health. One of my concerns is the nicotine in e-cigarettes and vapes. Research has shown that young people using e-cigarettes are twice as likely to suffer from a chronic cough than non-users.

The member mentioned flavours that are approved for food but, just because something is approved for food does not mean that it is okay to go into people’s lungs. Is that correct?

The Migration Advisory Committee stated that there is a failure to acknowledge that social care workers are skilled. If that was switched around and they were considered to be skilled workers, we might be able to recruit staff from Europe.

Will the member take an intervention?

There is just a one-word answer to that and that is yes. We should absolutely be doing research into and paying attention to substances that people are taking into lungs, which may be meant for food colouring, as came up earlier.

Kenneth Gibson spoke about the disturbance of gas exchange in the lungs and lung inflammation, but it is worth repeating that. Lung damage due to vaping is referred to as e-cigarette or vaping associated lung injury—EVALI. A public health investigation in Illinois and Wisconsin in the US found that the median age of patients suffering from EVALI was 21, but we have heard from colleagues across the chamber that younger people are vaping now.

Despite what the industry may say, nicotine can have detrimental health effects. We know that adolescents are more vulnerable to nicotine dependency than adults. Chronic nicotine exposure can impact brain development. That has been mentioned already but is worth repeating. The lung health cross-party group, which Alexander Stewart and I co-convene, had Dr Jonathan Coutts, who is a paediatric respiratory physician, present us with the evidence of his research about nicotine on child brain development. I refer members to the recording of the meeting. It is in the lung health CPG September minutes on the Parliament website. The impact on brain development that was presented shows that it can contribute to cognitive and attention deficit conditions and worsen mood disorders. That is pretty shocking. We also heard about the effects on mental health.

In addition to the health impact of vaping, particularly on young people, I am concerned about the way in which the vaping and tobacco industry is targeting young people, as others have described.

I will skip to the end of my speech and ask the Government what we can do to tighten the rules on advertising and promoting vaping products. It is a concern that these big bright colours are front and centre in our retail outlets and supermarkets.

Again, I thank Siobhian Brown for bringing the debate to the chamber and I share the concerns that have been raised by everybody about the health impacts of vaping on our young people in Scotland.

Will the member give way for a wee quickie?

STPR2 makes a commitment to improve journey times on the Glasgow to Carlisle rail line, and the cabinet secretary rightly mentions the A75 and A77 arterial routes, which need improvement based on safety and efficiency concerns. Can the cabinet secretary comment further on the process by which the Glasgow-Carlisle line will be improved and say when we will see shovels in the ground to take forward the recommendations for the A75 and A77?

I was interested to learn that we received 11 responses to the committee’s call for views. Some of the responses specifically mentioned clause 42. The Scottish Animal Welfare Commission said that we should not agree to the LCM because there would be an impact on Scotland. What communication has the Scottish Government had from other stakeholders in Scotland about the LCM?

The committee’s briefing papers state:

“The global trade in shark fins is estimated to be 16-17,000 tonnes per year, resulting in the death of 97 million sharks annually.”

That is a huge amount, and I just wanted to ensure that those figures were pointed out. You said that the issue is not a big one for us, in Scotland, but I want to ensure that we are vocal about those figures.

I apologise, convener.