Kids And Vaping – What Parents Need To Know

Teen Vaping

Vaping is an industry that has long been helping ex-smokers to quit tobacco and move to a less dangerous option. Nicotine replacement therapy has been so successful that the NHS have this year decided to make inroads into legislating the prescription of vape products to heavy ex-smokers. The use of the best e-liquid flavours UK in fighting off diseases like lung cancer and bronchitis is incredibly important.

But that’s the clearer side of the debate on vaping. Though it is most commonly used as a smoking cessation tool, there is no legislation in place to stop non-smokers using vape products. Moreover, despite tight age restrictions for over the counter sales of the best vape liquid brands UK, online retail is still to implement effective age restrictions, opening the door to underage vaping becoming commonplace in the UK. This blog will outline some of the key problems that underage vaping poses as well as the signs that your children may be vaping.

How Do Teenagers Get A Hold Of Vape Products?

Whilst the UK has established a Challenge 26 policy in all high street shops, it’s still incredibly easy to buy vape products online without identification. As technology evolves, fake identification is also easy to get hold of for underage shoppers looking to buy alcohol, tobacco or vape products.

Children And Vape Marketing

Though there has been a decisive shift away from this problem due to new legislation and several international lawsuits, there has been an ongoing problem surrounding the marketing of vape products to young people. Whether that be through the models used or the flavour ranges focussing on sweets or candy flavours, it might be unsurprising that at least 11% of teenagers have tried vaping.

What Risks Are Posed By Underage Vaping?

Vape products may not have the damaging effects of smoking, but there are still a few problems that can arise from them. It’s important to stress however, that vape products are used by adults as an effective means of giving up a more damaging habit. Vaping motivated by smoking cessation is a positive force, but underage vaping by those who have not been addicted to nicotine previously, is highly damaging. Below are some of the reasons why.

Chemicals In Vape Products

The chemicals in vape products like nic salt bundles from the UK may be far fewer than tobacco, but that doesn’t mean that they’re completely harmless. Vape product aerosols can often contain chemicals in their flavouring which may have passed Food Standards Agency compliance, but that is focused on ingested products, not inhaled. Whilst vape companies are trying to limit the amount of potentially dangerous chemicals in their flavourings, the use of them can’t be recommended by health officials without it being linked to smoking cessation, and especially not to underage people.

Unknown Long Term Effects

The dangers of smoking have long been researched but the long term effects of vaping are unclear, due to the infancy of the industry. Having existed for only around 20 years, long term effects of vaping, especially on developing lungs, is another uncertainty that should dissuade young people from vaping.

Gateway To Smoking

The problem with decoupling vaping from smoking cessation, is that those who use it for other purposes might be more likely to try smoking, even with nicotine free e-liquids. Those who do use nicotine are also more likely to form an addiction, which rewires the synapses in the brain to expect certain chemical loads linked to daily habits or routines. This rewiring in the brain can in some cases make the young person more likely to form other addictions in the future.