Vaping and Young People: What Parents Need to Know

The Rise of Vaping Among Young People

Vaping has become widespread among teenagers in the UK over the past several years. Surveys consistently show significant and rising rates of use among secondary school students, with disposable vapes marketed in attractive designs and sweet flavours playing a major role in their appeal to young people. Many young people who vape have never smoked traditional cigarettes: vaping is not, for them, a smoking cessation tool. It is a recreational habit with its own set of risks.

Parents often find this topic difficult to approach because the evidence base is still developing (vaping is newer than tobacco smoking by several decades), because the marketing around vaping has been somewhat mixed in its messaging about harm, and because many parents themselves are uncertain about what vaping actually is and what it does.

What Vaping Actually Is

Vaping devices (e-cigarettes, vapes) heat a liquid to create an aerosol that is inhaled. The liquid typically contains propylene glycol, vegetable glycerine, flavourings, and usually nicotine (though some products are labelled as nicotine-free). Unlike traditional cigarette smoke, the aerosol does not contain tar or carbon monoxide, which are responsible for many of the most serious harms of smoking.

However, the aerosol is not harmless water vapour, despite frequent claims to the contrary. It contains fine particles and various chemical compounds produced by heating the liquid and flavourings. The long-term effects of inhaling these compounds are not yet fully understood, precisely because vaping has not been around long enough for long-term studies to exist. This uncertainty cuts both ways: vaping is not proven safe, but neither is the extent of its harm fully characterised yet.

What We Know About the Risks

Nicotine addiction is the most clearly established risk for young people who vape. Many vaping products, particularly disposable ones popular with teenagers, contain significant amounts of nicotine, sometimes more than traditional cigarettes. Nicotine is highly addictive and has specific developmental effects on the adolescent brain, which is still developing until around age twenty-five. Nicotine affects the developing prefrontal cortex and is associated with increased impulsivity, changes in attention, and priming of the brain toward addiction to other substances.

Respiratory effects of vaping have been documented in research, including irritation of the airways, increased cough and wheeze, and reduced lung function in some studies. A severe lung illness called EVALI (e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury) caused deaths and serious illness predominantly in the United States and was linked to a specific additive (vitamin E acetate in THC-containing products rather than standard nicotine vapes), but its existence illustrates that vaping is not without serious acute risks.

Cardiovascular effects of nicotine include increased heart rate and blood pressure. While these are generally better tolerated in young, healthy individuals than in older adults with cardiovascular disease, regular nicotine use is not without cardiovascular effects at any age.

Recognising Vaping in Your Teenager

Disposable vapes are small, discreet, and easily concealed, making them easy for teenagers to use without parents noticing. Signs that might indicate vaping include: finding a vaping device or packaging in your teenager's room or belongings, a new or unfamiliar sweet smell on their breath or clothing, increased thirst (a common effect of vaping), nosebleeds (another side effect reported by some users), and coughing or changes in breathing.

You may also notice changes in behaviour associated with nicotine dependence: irritability when they have not vaped for a period, increased anxiety, and difficulty concentrating, which can all be withdrawal symptoms.

The Legal Position

It is illegal to sell vaping products to anyone under eighteen in the UK. Enforcement of this law has been imperfect, particularly with disposable vapes bought from certain shops, but the legal position is clear. Many shops that previously sold to minors have faced action, and enforcement has strengthened in recent years. Online sales to under-eighteens are also prohibited.

Possession of a vaping device is not itself illegal for a young person, though in most school settings it is a disciplinary matter. The legal restriction is on sale and purchase.

Having the Conversation

If you discover or suspect your teenager is vaping, the most productive approach starts with curiosity rather than confrontation. Understanding why they are vaping (peer pressure, anxiety management, boredom, the social element of vaping with friends, genuine addiction to nicotine) is essential before you can respond usefully.

Share what is actually known about the risks, particularly nicotine addiction and the effects on the developing brain, in an honest and non-catastrophising way. Acknowledge the uncertainty in the evidence while being clear that uncertainty does not mean safety. Make clear what your expectations are without issuing ultimatums that are impossible to enforce and that will simply push the behaviour underground.

If your teenager is already significantly addicted to nicotine and wants to stop, your GP can provide support and refer to smoking cessation services that increasingly include vaping in their scope. Nicotine replacement therapy (patches, gum, lozenges) is safer than continued vaping for those trying to quit.