Vape products could soon be sold with simpler flavour names and plainer packaging under new government proposals aimed at reducing their appeal to children and young people.

The UK Government has launched a 12-week consultation on measures that would restrict how vaping products are marketed, including banning flavour names linked to sweets, desserts and alcoholic drinks. Under the plans, products would instead use straightforward descriptions, such as "apple" or "mint", rather than more eye-catching branding.

The proposals also include introducing standardised packaging, limiting devices to plain colours such as black, white or grey, and requiring vapes to be kept out of sight in shops. Ministers say the changes are designed to curb youth vaping while ensuring that e-cigarettes remain available as a smoking cessation aid for adults.

The Department of Health and Social Care said the measures are intended to address growing concerns over the number of children experimenting with vaping.

Recent figures suggest that nearly one in five children aged 11 to 17 in Britain has tried vaping, with health experts pointing to colourful packaging, sweet flavour descriptions and prominent retail displays as factors that make the products more appealing.

Health organisations, including the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), have welcomed the proposals, arguing that reducing child-friendly branding could help discourage young people from taking up vaping. They stress that while vaping is considered less harmful than smoking and can help smokers quit, it is not risk-free and should not become attractive to children.

The consultation also seeks views on introducing plain packaging for tobacco products, placing stop-smoking information inside cigarette packs and strengthening rules on how nicotine products are displayed in shops. The government is expected to consider responses before deciding whether to bring the new regulations into force.