'Vape crusader' Laura Young wins Scottish Influencer of the Year prize

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Vape crusader Laura Young whose relentless campaigning helped bring about the ban on disposable e-cigs has been named Scotland’s social media influencer of the year.The 27-year-old, from Dundee, has been instrumental in raising awareness of the environmental blight of single-use plastic vapes.She won the title of Scottish Influencer of the Year at a glitzy awards bash in Glasgow on Sunday night where she was praised as “the ultimate ethical influencer”.The environmental scientist and PhD student boasts more than 60,000 followers across her social media channels where she’s known as Less Waste Laura.She rose to major national prominence with her activism on disposable vapes - sharing the results of litter picks across the country and highlighting the eco threat from the polluting gadgets as she called for them to be banned.Laura was also an early and key backer of the Record’s Bin The Vapes campaign, launched last January to urge ministers to outlaw the single-use devices.Last month, we revealed how disposable vapes will be banned in Scotland, England and Wales from April 1, 2025 in a massive win for the campaign.Laura’s victory at the Scottish Influencer Awards comes after she was named one the world’s top 20 “climate creators” and was also honoured at the Holyrood Climate Action Awards.Speaking to the Record, she said: “It’s a great honour to have received this award.“It is so amazing the top award has gone to an influencer who maybe isn’t the traditional type of influencer you might think of.“It just shows how important social media is in campaigning for change.”Laura added: “I really hope to help influence other influencers to think about how they can use their big platforms to fight for change.”The 27-year-old’s