Rise in teenage vaping

  • Results from an NHS Digital survey has found one in five school children used e-cigarettes in 2021.
  • Among the 11 to 15 year olds surveyed, 9% said they vaped, which is up from 6% in 2018.
  • Doctors believe children are being targeted by e-cigarette companies, with bright packaging and exotic flavours.
  • However, the percentage of teenagers using drugs and smoking cigarettes fell between 2018 and 2021.
  • Read more about this survey on the BBC’s website.

Cryptocurrency scam warning issued by ombudsman

  • People are being warned not to be tempted by fake investments including cryptocurrency scams as the cost-of-living
  • The Financial Ombudsman Service has been receiving a growing number of investment scam complaints.
  • The scams tend to involve someone being persuaded to buy cryptocurrency through legitimate means, then being asked to send it to scammers.
  • You can find out more on the Belfast Telegraph’s website.

Thomas and friends announce first autistic character

  • Children’s television show Thomas and Friends have announced the introduction of their first autistic character, Bruno the Brake Car.
  • Elliott Garcia, the nine-year-old autistic actor who will voice the new character, says Bruno “can get really overwhelmed, he can get worried and uses comedy to get past situations.”
  • The National Autistic Society has said “it is important that everyone sees autistic characters on our screens, because there are 160,000 school-age autistic children in the UK”.
  • Read more on the Independent’s website.

Suicide listed as the leading cause of death among young people in Scotland

  • Suicide was the leading cause of death among children and young adults in Scotland from 2011 to 2020.
  • Public Health Scotland found more than a quarter of deaths of those aged 5-24 were as a result of probable suicide.
  • This was more than the number of young people dying from road accidents and accidental poisonings combined.
  • You can read more on the BBC’s website.