We Should Be Angry About This: At Least 13 Groups in England Don’t Allow Vapers to Adopt

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So here’s a new one. Kids that might otherwise get adopted in England are being kept from a better life because their would-be parents might use electronic cigarettes. This came to light when a couple — after passing multiple qualifying interviews and tests — was denied the ability to adopt because the would-be father was seen using an electronic cigarette.

The couple was seeking to adopt after failing to conceive a child on their own. They started the adoption process in December of 2013, but was only recently denied final approval after it came to light that one of them was a vaper. As it seems, this was not a situation in which the couple lied about one of them being a user and then it turned out they were. Instead, the man had quit smoking some time ago and was a vaper. When the social worker saw him vaping he explained the device and she relayed the information to the council in charge of the adoption.

The social worker involved admitted to not knowing the position of the adoption organization on electronic cigarettes, but the response eventually was that vapers are not suitable parents. This is based on a statement from the British Association for Adoption and Fostering that users of e-cigarettes be considered smokers. As such, at least 13 major adoption groups in England hold to this rule which does not allow smokers to adopt.

You can read a more extensive account of the situation right here.

Meanwhile, though, there are groups and experts that argue against this decision. The Fostering Network says individuals should not be prevented from fostering based on use of electronic cigarettes. As well, many tobacco and smoking harm experts now believe that electronic cigarettes do not pose a secondhand risk to bystanders — including children. Some studies suggest that even direct use of electronic cigarettes and nicotine-containing vaping products may not pose a long term risk to users, let alone bystanders.

This is likely to turn into a very major fight.