GB News host Bev Turner has shut down a guest who claimed that vaping devices are solely "to help people quit smoking" in a row over the UK's latest proposed ban.
Britain's biggest union of doctors, the BMA, have called for a crackdown on all flavoured vapes in the UK, in a bid to tackle the country's e-cigarette epidemic.
The BMA has urged the Labour Government to take "bold and brave action" in implementing the ban to protect children from using and becoming addicted to vapes.
Speaking out against the ban, Dr Marina Murphy from the UK Vaping Industry Association claimed that vaping devices are "designed to help those quit smoking" and are "already illegal" to be sold and consumed by those under 18 years old.
Bev Turner hit out at Dr Marina Murphy for claiming that vaping devices are 'designed for people to quit smoking'
GB News
Murphy told GB News: "These products are designed for adult smokers to help them quit smoking, and they do that very effectively. There's already legislation in place - it's illegal for anybody under 18 to buy or use an e-cigarette.
"So for me, I think it makes no sense to target the smokers that want and need these products. Rather, we should be targeting the retailers that are selling the products to the young people because they shouldn't be doing that in the first place."
When quizzed by host Andrew Pierce on the marketing of vapes including colours and flavours, Murphy was asked if a "bubblegum flavoured vape is really aimed at a 55-year-old trying to quit smoking".
Murphy responded: "I think there are issues around the naming conventions and they are problematic - that's not to say that adults don't want or need a wide range of flavours, they definitely do.
The BMA have called for a ban on all flavoured vapes in the UK to protect children from the harms of e-cigarettes
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"There is an argument to be made that naming conventions and the appearance of products could be regulated more strictly, however, banning products for adults doesn't solve the youth issue."
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In disagreement with Murphy, Bev argued that vaping devices have "got another generation addicted to nicotine" and are not helped by the booming success of the vaping industry.
Bev fumed: "I see teenagers who would never have picked up a cigarette because it didn't taste very nice addicted to nicotine. You've successfully got another generation addicted to nicotine.
"And I've also seen recently this summer old friends who haven't smoked for 20,30, sometimes 40 years routinely vaping because they like the taste of it, and they are now re-addicted to nicotine. So the success of the vaping industry is not to get people to quit, it's to create a whole another generation of people who are addicts."
Standing firm on her argument, Murphy stated: "If you are pragmatic and you accept that humans want or need to use nicotine, the pragmatic thing is to provide them with a safe way to do that."
Bev Turner told Dr Murphy to 'stop pretending' that vapes are not 'creating a new generation of addicts'
GB News
Bev interjected, raging: "Just admit that's what this is, it's not a quitting product anymore, just admit that's what you're doing.
"Stop pretending you're trying to make people quit smoking, that's not what this is. I think you just all need to be honest in the vaping industry that you want a whole new generation of adults and children addicted to these products."
Murphy hit back: "Like I said, vapes are designed for adults who want to quit smoking. The fact is that the vast majority of people who use them are either smokers or ex-smokers or smokers that are trying to quit.
"There are more people vaping, but there are also a lot fewer people smoking."