A vape is a form of an e-cigarette where the liquid containing nicotine is made into an aerosol to inhale. To begin with vapes were made with the aim to ease the transition of quitting smoking but in recent years there has been an increasing rise in disposable vapes- this has created a myriad of different issues.

Disposable vapes have increasingly become more popular due to the easier access. Generally considered harmless, nicotine in vapes can potentially damage adolescent brain. The substances within vapes are also not limited to nicotine and flavouring- they could contain heavy metals like lead or cancer-causing chemicals within them. Vaping has not been around long enough to gather evidence about its long-term effects, especially because smoking and lung diseases were not linked until the 1950s. Therefore, it is important to be vary of what the body is intaking in form of ‘flavoured air’.

I spoke to my friend Ella Berry about how she was directly impacted by vaping. When asked about how long a disposable vape lasts her, she said “A vape with around 3500 puffs would last me about 4 days, sometimes a week”, this is equivalent to around 100 cigarettes, a 3500 puffs Elux contains more than 2% nicotine which is over the legal amount allowed in a disposable. Typically, a 2% nicotine vape would allow for around 600 puffs. When asked about withdrawal symptoms (from the lack of nicotine) when quitting, Ella answered saying she dealt with regular cravings, she also felt sweaty, and her heart would beat faster after around 3 days without usage. Overall, Ella said she must have spent around £500 on vapes overall, alongside saying that she probably wouldn’t have started if it wasn’t around her by friends and family but has never dealt with peer pressure into doing anything and it has always been her choice.

While there are laws in place to prevent people under the age of 18 to be able to have access to vapes and buy them, they are not always strictly followed. According to data published by Department of Health and Social care on 12th October, the percentage of people aged 11-17 who have tried vaping in 2023 is 20.1%, tripling over the last three years. In an attempt to resolve the issues that come from the rise of disposable vapes, the department set forth a proposal of actions to create a smokefree generation. This includes focusing on prevention rather than trying to quit afterwards. The UK government plans on introducing legislation stating that anyone born on or after 1st Jan 2009 will not be able to ever buy any form of tobacco products. The government also plans to tackle affordability for younger people and reducing the flavours available as this tempts them to buy more. However, it may not completely work as flavours are proven to aid the adults who are trying to quit smoking. The challenge for the government is to address youth related issues without denying the adults who would benefit from vapes to quit smoking. A measure I think should be taken is increasing taxes on both tobacco products and vaping products, this will likely reduce usage and prevent further addiction.