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Paediatricians have warned vaping is “fast becoming an epidemic among children” and are calling for disposable vapes to be banned. Many parents may be concerned about their own child’s health if they’re vaping. In May, Action on Smoking and Health (ASH ) warned there had been a 50% rise in the proportion of children vaping – from 7.7% of 11 to 17-year-olds trying e-cigarettes last year to 11.6% this year. And because vapes haven’t been around long (they’ve only been on sale in the UK since 2007) there haven’t been any long-term studies on the effect on health, and particularly on young lungs, hearts and brains. However, responding to a current Government consultation on e-cigarettes, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) has warned e-cigarettes “are not a risk-free product and can be just as addictive, if not more so than traditional cigarettes”. The RCPCH’s vice president for policy and paediatric respiratory consultant, Dr Mike McKean, says: “Without a doubt, disposable e-cigarettes should be banned. Youth vaping is fast becoming an epidemic among children, and I fear that if action is not taken, we will find ourselves sleepwalking into a crisis.” But it’s a crisis many parents are ill-informed about – so here’s what the experts think parents should know… What are vapes?Hazel Cheeseman, deputy chief executive at ASH, describes vapes – also known as electronic cigarettes – as “a battery-powered heating element which heats a liquid – generally containing nicotine and other ingredients – that’s then inhaled as a vapour by users”. Some vapes are single -use and come in bright packaging, with exotic flavours and enticing, sweetie-type names like strawberry ice cream, cotton candy and cherry cola, others are rechargeable. Can children buy vapes? It’s illegal to sell vapes to under 18s in the UK. However, youngsters are clearly still getting their hands on them. McKean, who practises in the north-east of England, says he’s concerned to hear there’s been an increase in unregulated e-cigarettes hitting the UK market recently. He points out that in the north-east alone, more than 1.4 tonnes of illegal e-cigarettes – which Trading Standards said were often indistinguishable from regulated products – were seized from shops in the second half of last year. “It’s impossible to know what these products contain or how they might impact young people’s health,” he says. “The thought that these products are ending up in the hands of children is terrifying.” What do they contain? The crucial thing for parents to know is that they contain nicotine, which is harmful and addictive. Gurch Randhawa, professor of diversity in public health and director of the Institute for Health Research at the University of Bedfordshire, says: “E-cigarettes do not burn tobacco and do not produce tar or carbon monoxide, the most harmful aspects of smoking cigarettes. E-cigarettes typically contain nicotine, propylene glycol, vegetable glycerine, and flavourings.” Are they addictive? Yes. McKean warns: “Vaping is far from risk-free, and in many cases can be very addictive.” Cheeseman adds: “It appears likely that people who have not smoked can become addicted to nicotine through vaping”. What are the health impacts long-term? Randhawa says that because vapes are a relatively new product, evidence on their health impacts isn’t clear. Experts are concerned though – especially because people under the age of 18 are still developing. Nicotine is known to cause an increase in blood pressure, heart rate, flow of blood to the heart and a narrowing of the arteries.Cheeseman says: “We don’t know what the health implications will be long-term. It seems likely there will be some, but until we have a population of people who have exclusively vaped without smoking for many decades it will be difficult to fully assess the impact.” Decades ago, no one knew about the devastating health impacts of smoking either. How can parents help children quit? Ensure your child has all the correct information and risks associated with vaping. Rather than setting strict punishments, try to be understanding and have a gentle discussion about peer pressure and having the confidence to say no. Cheeseman says nicotine replacement therapy can be used for children as young as 12. Randhawa points out that e-cigarettes should only be used to help people stop smoking. “If you haven’t smoked, you should not use e-cigarettes, as they contain nicotine, which is addictive. This message needs to be understood and articulated across society and schools to support children to not take up vaping.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Leah Williamson’s first fiction book inspired by women’s football ban protest Love Island 2023: Is having a ‘type’ holding back your dating life? 8 home repair jobs to tackle quickly – before they cost you a fortune

The “girl dinner” trend is the newest viral sensation taking over TikTok. Now, Popeyes has unveiled its take on “girl dinner” by offering a variety of sides for a single meal. However, not everyone is on board with the new menu item. For those unaware, the “girl dinner” trend first popped up in May after TikTok user Olivia Maher described her ideal meal as nothing but bread and cheese. As Maher showed off her plate - which consisted of bread, cheese, wine, grapes, and pickles - she said: “This is my dinner, I call this ‘girl dinner.’” Since then, fellow TikTokers have used Maher’s sound to highlight their go-to “girl dinner” meals - green olives, salami slices, and pieces of cheese; guacamole and chips; or prosciutto and peach slices. Essentially, the “girl dinner” trend involves a smorgasbord of one’s favourite snacks or small plates, which is why it didn’t take long for Popeyes to unveil its own “girl dinner” menu. The American fast food chain, known for its iconic chicken sandwiches, is now selling a selection of six side dishes on its website under the new tab, “Girl Dinner”. The menu includes mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, Cajun fries, coleslaw, biscuits, and red beans with rice. Each dish has to be ordered separately, and the price varies depending on how many sides are ordered. In fact, the “Girl Dinner” tab is identical to Popeyes’ menu for side dishes, but just with a trendier name. That’s partly why Popeyes’ new “girl dinner” menu has sparked much conversation online: it’s all just sides. “Thought this was a joke but there is literally a ‘girl dinner’ section on the Popeyes website wtf is going on,” read one viral tweet. “Popeyes got a ‘girl dinner’ section on the app…but it’s just sides lol,” another said. “If anyone was wondering Popeyes has a ‘girl dinner’ segment of its menu and it’s just all their available sides,” a third user wrote. While some people believed the menu option was a “genius” marketing ploy, others pointed out its shortcomings – namely, that a restaurant known for its chicken wouldn’t offer chicken in its new menu. “To go to Popeyes and not get chicken is a literal crime give girl dinner some chicken plz,” said one user in response. Unlike a traditional combo meal, which combines a variety of offerings into one order, many people also noted that the “girl dinner” meal is exactly the same as Popeyes’ side dishes. “They didn’t actually do anything tho!!! It’s just sides, there isn’t a combo mix-n-match,” said one person on TikTok. “They duplicated the sides tab and renamed it ‘girl dinner.’” Much like the original “girl dinner” trend, which sparked some controversy for lacking sustenance, Popeyes fans believed that its new menu option was simply not enough food. “Popeyes is offering a ‘girl dinner’ menu that contains zero meals,” one person tweeted. “Just a quick reminder that it is girly and feminine as f*** to eat many big, nutritious meals a day.” In a statement to CNN, Popeyes said its “girl dinner” menu was designed to give its fans “options packed with robust Cajun flavours that are made with the same slow, time-honoured, homemade traditions of Southern cooking that the brand started in 1972”. Read More What is the ‘girl dinner’ trend and why is there controversy over it? What is an ‘ingredient household’? TikTok phrase for snackless homes goes viral ‘We call them Picky Bits’: Nigella Lawson responds to viral ‘Girl Dinner’ trend Schoolboy almost dies from swallowing magnets for TikTok challenge Woman shares honest review of New York City apartment TikTok mom slammed after making 5-year-old son run in 104 degree heat

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I’m standing outside my local cafe in west London, looking bedraggled as I’ve been up since 6.45am making the dreaded school packed lunch. It’s nothing exotic – margherita pizza for Lola, who is a fussy eater, and plain pasta with cheddar cheese and corn on the cob for Liberty. There were all the snacks to pack, too – sadly, no chunks of carrot, just Pom-Bears and breadsticks. I am buying a croissant to add to one of the lunch boxes when I bump into the mum of one of my daughter’s friends. “Oh darling,” she tells me, “it’s all ‘white food’. Not good.” I shrug my shoulders knowingly, then stupidly ask her what’s in her kids’ packed lunches. “Sushi bento box,” comes her instant reply. “Crudites and organic hummus. Japanese panda crackers. Seaweed crackers. Dim sum. Oh, and sandwiches cut into little shapes – I do hearts and stars.” Right. That’s a good start to my morning; I now feel totally inadequate. When it comes to my children, I am a slave to the packed lunch. But gone are the days of stuffing a hard-boiled egg, a jam sandwich or processed cheese triangles into a box – as was the case when I was a child. Even apples have been voted a prehistoric lunchbox item by 17 per cent of parents. Instead, packed lunches are now a status symbol. The actor Hilary Duff, for instance, gives her son caviar for a snack – and it’s not that unusual. One in 10 parents (9 per cent) choose sushi and, according to a recent survey by Amazon Fresh, 26 per cent of parents take a photo of their children’s packed lunch for Instagram. A third (33 per cent) have also admitted they’ve taken a sneak peek inside another child’s lunchbox – and believe me, it’s often to silently snack-shame another parent. I can’t help but wonder if food and snacks are a kind of modern litmus test of parenting. But does it really make you a better parent if you give your child home-cooked wild keta salmon and wholemeal rice in a thermal container for lunch? The playground politics of packed lunches are complex. Parents are constantly criticised for sending inappropriate lunches to school. The TV chef Jamie Oliver once said unhealthy packed lunches are tantamount to child abuse. At the other extreme, parents are finding the time to stamp cucumbers with flowers and dice dried herbs into them for their kid’s bento boxes – then post them online. There seems to be no middle ground. Christina (not her real name) is a 40-year-old PA and tablescaping specialist whose child attends a prep school in west London’s Notting Hill. She makes all of her daughter’s packed lunches from scratch, and it’s always organic produce. “I always wanted to go that extra mile,” she tells me. “My motivation to do this was never to be ‘Queen Bee mum’ – it was to make my daughter happy and proud of me.” The “presentation” and “the taste” of the packed lunches, she says, is “super important” – to such an extent that it needs to be “Instagram-worthy” and “fun” in order to encourage her daughter to eat healthily. One of her lunch box specialities, she adds, is mini American hot dogs “decorated with a little flag and a drizzle of ketchup”. “I know it is always going to be flagged by other mothers because the school is very competitive,” she continues. “This dish goes around the mums like wildfire because mums always want to outdo other mums.” If I put out a post saying how much fibre children should be having, I get people replying saying that ‘it’s unrealistic’ and ‘we can’t do that as well as everything else’ when it comes to kids’ foods. It ends up with parents pitting themselves off against one another with food Charlotte Stirling-Reed, child and baby nutrionist While school playground rivalry among parents used to be about pigtails and bows in your children’s hair, Christina says, now it’s about lunch and snacks. “Kids have a much more sophisticated palate,” she explains. “They’re exposed to a lot more than a ham and cheese sandwich. The playing field has widened, and the bar has been set higher due to social media, and Deliveroo and Uber Eats – everything has become more instantaneous.” For other parents, it’s about making a packed lunch as wholesome as possible – something my children would scoff at. Ella Mills, the founder of the plant-based food brand Deliciously Ella, tells me she has found “batch cooking” easiest for her daughter’s packed lunches at nursery. “It’s a real rush getting everyone dressed, ready and out of the door each morning,” she says. “Plus, thinking of something to cook at 7am that’s got no nuts, no sesame in it [due to possible nut allergies], that I’ll know they’ll eat, and that doesn’t take a little while to make. So I make huge batches of veggie bolognese, bean chilli or sweet potato and chickpea stews plus big batches of grains, then simply heat a portion up and pop it in a thermos. Something that’s pre-made makes a world of difference.” Other parents call in the professionals. Chef Meryem Korkut Avci of Mary’s Mobile Chef Services does “meal preps” for elite customers in west and north London. She sends over an ingredients list and will then come to your home once a week and cook for the whole family – a two-hour session is £120 for six dishes (on the seventh day, her clients usually get a takeaway). For packed lunches, she says gluten-free muffins are popular. “Also egg or chicken fried rice, chilli con carne with tortilla, little mini puff pastry rolls with cheese – or sausage rolls.” She’ll even wash up – and says clients use her because “they don’t have time” or are “bored of their own food”. Dr Megan Rossi, a gut health scientist, bestselling author and founder of the website The Gut Health Doctor and The Gut Health Clinic in London, says an ideal packed lunch would contain something from each of the super-six plant groups: “Legumes (such as chickpeas), vegetables, whole grains (such as oats and barley), fruit, nuts and seeds and herbs and spices. Hitting all these is a tricky one but for optimal health, the goal is for them to have at least one from each of these most days. It’s a great target to have in mind!” She advises “hiding legumes and whole grains in sweet treats like black bean brownies with porridge oats,” and says that “while not a long-term strategy to keep plants a secret, it can help build some confidence and comfort with those plants (as well as training childrens’ taste buds) for you to reveal when the time is right.” For chocolate lovers – like my daughter, Lola – Dr Rossi also suggests “making your own chocolate bars with dried fruits, popcorn, seeds and nuts included for extra dietary fibres and a more satiating treat”. I personally can’t see how I would fit that into my schedule. But for many parents healthy eating is a full-time job. Children may need to be offered a specific food “around 10 times” before they accept it, according to research, while Dr Rossi adds that it means nothing to a child if you merely tell them food is healthy or unhealthy. “Try explaining to them from a young age about the importance of their gut microbes,” she says. “Tell them they need to feed the little pet bugs in their tummy with broccoli, for instance, to help keep them strong.” I often feel ashamed that Lola is a fussy eater – though I find solace in the fact that her younger sister isn’t. Dr Rossi claims that what mums-to-be eat during pregnancy may also affect the kind of food your child will have a taste for. “That could play a part with fussing eating,” she says, but adds that she’s not keen on “mum guilt”: “Pregnancy is hard enough without the added pressure of nutrition.” Charlotte Sterling-Reed, “The Baby and Child Nutritionist”, runs a fussy eater course, and assures me that “parents are not bad parents if they are struggling with a fussy eater at home”. She says she is currently witnessing a backlash from “defensive parents” who are fed up with being told to live up to the “ideal” of being a perfect parent. “If I put out a post saying how much fibre children should be having, I get people replying saying that ‘it’s unrealistic’ and ‘we can’t do that as well as everything else’ when it comes to kids’ foods,” she says. “It ends up with parents pitting themselves off against one another with food.” An extravagant lunchbox is also not realistic for the majority of parents, she adds, “whether working or not, and nor should it be – there is a way to find a balance”. She says that a middle ground is possible. “As parents, [we can] pick something that is balanced but that also works for the family situation. This constant comparison between two extremes on social media makes us feel like we are failing in multiple aspects of parenting.” I don’t think I’m ever going to be posting my kids packed lunches on Instagram. I also know that sliced pepper fingers won’t get eaten even if I arrange them in the shape of a smiley face. More than anything though, I won’t feel guilty about my kids’ food habits any more, or the lengths I sometimes go to to get them to eat healthy – I once told my daughters that if they didn’t drink their freshly squeezed orange juice, their legs would fall off. And, you know what, it worked! Read More Keir Starmer is keeping his children out of the public eye – but that won’t stop them being privileged I’m a jellyfish parent – my run-in with a tiger mum was terrifying Kate Moss credits her stress-free life to ‘moonbathing’ – can eccentric wellness regimes help me too? Vasectomy and British men in their twenties: ‘Young, none and done’ Why taking a mental health day could be bad… for your mental health What the world’s happiest children tell us about where Britain is going wrong

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