Children as young as 14 are becoming addicted to e-Cigarettes, the head of Britain’s biggest addiction clinic has said.

John Dicey, chief executive of Allen Carr’s Easyway which has 35 centres around the UK, said there has been a steep rise in the past year of young people seeking help on how to quit vaping.

“We have noticed a sharp increase in the last half of 2018 and first quarter of 2019 in the number of inquiries from youngsters - and their parents - who took up vaping in their early teens and now wish to quit,” he said.

Numbers are “in the dozens rather than in hundreds” he said, but added that there has been a “clear sea change in the past few months”, which reflects the surge of youth enquiries from America since 2017.

Mr Dicey, who is a senior Alan Carr therapist, explained how a “significant” number of teenagers that come for treatment said they were encouraged to vape instead of smoke by their parents, particularly if their parents are smokers.