HEALTH chiefs have raised serious concerns over the rising use of e-cigarettes by young people in East Lancashire.

The devices are often marketed as a healthier alternative to smoking conventional cigarettes, but a new study suggested nearly one in five users aged between 14 and 17 had never previously smoked.

Experts at Liverpool John Moores University also found e-cigarettes were 'strongly related' to drinking among those surveyed.

Dr Sakthi Karunanithi, Lancashire County Council's director of public health, said: "Research shows that e-cigarettes are definitely becoming more popular with young people in Lancashire.

"We are concerned about this because e-cigarettes are not medically tested or currently regulated and the chemicals could be harmful to people who use them.

"E-cigarettes are marketed towards young people who are attracted by the variety of flavours on offer and the tricks that can be performed with the vapour.

"We welcome the forthcoming legislation to ban the sale of e-cigarettes to young people aged under 18 (which comes into force next year).

Dominic Harrison, his counterpart at Blackburn with Darwen Council, said: “We have worked extremely hard to reduce the numbers of people smoking in Blackburn with Darwen and are very concerned that the rise in popularity of e-cigarettes may make smoking a normalised behaviour again. They are also unlicensed and the long-term risks of using them are unknown at this point."

But Fraser Cropper, managing director of Blackburn-based e-cigarette firm, Totally Wicked, said the study was 'sensationalist and one-sided', and there was previous research showing children are not using e-cigarettes in significant numbers.

He added: "Ethical and transparent e-cig companies such as Totally Wicked do not market at under 18s to encourage them to start vaping.

"Totally Wicked was at the forefront of the call for the Government to ban sales of e-cigarettes to under 18s and has publicly welcomed the Government's recent legislation which will come into force next year, preventing sales to under 18s, and a new robust advertising code of practice for the sector."