Vaping can lead to cardiovascular disease and damage the adolescent brain – Dr Gwenetta Curry

The first electronic cigarettes were introduced to the UK in 2005 to help reduce smoking and the risk of lung, throat, and mouth cancers that it creates.

These e-cigarettes were meant to be for people who were trying to quit smoking. While reducing tobacco smoking at young ages has been an ongoing issue, vaping has presented new challenges.

The UK is the second-largest market in the world for vaping products, worth £2.5 billion in 2020. The majority of people who vape in the UK are between the ages of 35 and 44, while in the US it’s 18 to 24.

What is most concerning is the increase in e-cigarette use among young populations. In 2020, the 18-24 age group had the lowest vaping rate but by 2022, they had the highest. The most popular flavours are fruity ones that are designed to appeal to young people.

A report by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) said that younger populations were attracted to the devices because of how they are marketed in shops and on social media. A YouGov survey of 2,613 children found that 40 per cent had never smoked a real cigarette but had tried an e-cigarette, which is an increase from 30 per cent in 2020.

Overall, vaping products are still fairly new and there needs to be more research done to gain a full understanding of their long-term impact and more analysis of the toxic chemicals that are used in these products.

The evidence is clear that, for smokers, e-cigarettes are less harmful than smoking tobacco. However, although lung, throat, and mouth cancers aren’t seen as a risk in the same way as tobacco smoking, vaping can still potentially result in major health problems.

The most common side-effects include coughing, dry mouth and throat, shortness of breath, mouth and throat irritation, and headaches. But long-term exposure can significantly impair the function of the body’s blood vessels, increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Vaping may be less harmful than smoking tobacco, but it can still cause serious health problems (Picture: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Furthermore, according to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, nicotine is not safe for kids, teens, and young adults – and 99 per cent of e-cigarettes contain it. Nicotine can be particularly harmful to the developing adolescent brain. Using it in adolescence can harm the parts of the brain that control attention, learning, mood, and impulse control. Nicotine is also highly addictive and, when used at a young age, can lead to the use of other illegal drugs. Youths may turn to vaping to try to deal with stress or anxiety, creating a cycle of nicotine dependence.

In Scotland, secondary schools are attempting to crack down on the habit among students and aim to reduce the availability of e-cigarettes and the various products within the vicinity. There are also laws in place to restrict such sales to under-18s and require shops to have age verification policies.

The number of products confiscated in Scottish secondary schools has gone from single digits in 2018/2019 to triple digits in 2021/2022. There is a lot of work that needs to be done to discourage young people to avoid vaping and increase their awareness of the potential health risks.

Dr Gwenetta Curry is an Edinburgh University lecturer on race, ethnicity and health