Travel for families of children with complex medical needs can offer significant benefits for family wellbeing and quality of life, yet it is often perceived as complex and high risk. As the population of technology-dependent children increases, the need to support safe and feasible travel has become more prominent. Families face multiple barriers, including the need to maintain continuity of care, transport essential equipment and medications, navigate variable regulations, and coordinate extensive documentation across healthcare and travel systems. These demands, alongside financial costs and administrative burden, frequently contribute to increased anxiety and risk aversion. Experiential accounts from parents demonstrate that travel for this cohort of children is safe, achievable, and rewarding with comprehensive and anticipatory planning across key domains, including destination selection, accommodation suitability, equipment and oxygen provision, medication and nutrition management, transport arrangements, and emergency preparedness. Healthcare professionals play a crucial role in supporting families through pre-travel assessment, documentation, and risk mitigation strategies. With appropriate preparation and multidisciplinary collaboration, travel can be undertaken safely, enabling families to access important psychosocial benefits while minimising potential clinical risks.
Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) have become a leading form of nicotine use among children and adolescents worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that approximately 15 million young teenagers currently use these products. Contrary to early claims regarding reduced harm, e‑cigarettes expose users to a range of toxic substances, including carcinogens and, increasingly, synthetic nicotine compounds and other psychoactive agents. Epidemiological studies associate adolescent e‑cigarette use with respiratory morbidity, adverse mental health outcomes, and a substantially increased likelihood of subsequent initiation of combustible cigarette smoking. Dual use of e‑cigarettes and conventional cigarettes, reported among more than one third of nicotine‑using high school students in the United States, is associated with greater health risks than use of either product alone. The rise in adolescent vaping has been influenced by social media promotion backed by tobacco companies, flavored products, low-cost disposable devices, and peer norms, alongside persistent misperceptions of harm. Global regulatory responses remain inconsistent, with limited adoption of comprehensive bans and continued challenges from illicit markets. The International Society of Pediatric Respiratory Diseases (INSPiRED) calls for a global ban of e-cigarettes sales, advertising bans, increased taxation, and development of cessation services for youth.
