Failing to warn teenagers about cancer risks from vaping is “unforgivable”, a leading surgeon has said as he calls on ministers to introduce child-specific guidance on the dangers of e-cigarettes.

Professor Kefah Mokbel, chief breast cancer surgeon at the London Breast Institute, said current Government advice is leading youngsters into believing e-cigarettes are safe.

Public Health England states that e-cigarettes are estimated to be 95 per cent less harmful than tobacco.

However, in his letter to the Health and Education secretaries, Professor Mokbel said e-cigarettes had not been available long enough for scientists to properly understand the risks.

“It would be unforgivable if we were to do nothing, only to discover in 30 years' time that widespread vaping among teenagers in the 2010s and 2020s had triggered a significant number of avoidable cases of breast cancer,” he said.

He pointed out that “established science” suggests toxic substances in the vapours that users inhale could trigger tumours in later life.

The number of teenagers who have tried e-cigarettes has risen rapidly to one in six, double the proportion just four years ago, and experts are increasingly voicing concerns about aggressive marketing of the products to teenagers.

Amy Sellars, assistant head teacher at Latymer Upper School, a private school in London, told the Mail on Sunday she had written to parents warning them of a “new craze for the devices.”