Both smoking and vaping have detrimental impacts on our physical health. But is the ease and subtlety of vaping creating yet another isolating habit amongst young people?
According to a study carried out by YouGov for Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), around 400,000 11-17 year olds vaped in 2024, compared to less than 300,000 who smoked traditional cigarettes.
It probably doesn’t help that the wide variety of bright colours and flavours make selecting a vape seem like an adult trip to the candy store.
While both smoking and vaping have negative consequences for our health, the extent of which for vaping are still being researched, arguably the solitude of vaping is having a worse effect than smoking on young people’s mental health.
Originally invented by Hon Lik, a 52 year old pharmacist in China, as a way to quit smoking, the commercial e-cigarette has come to replace the real thing for smokers and non-smokers alike.
This isn’t wholly disparate from the nicotine dependency that vaping can trigger in young people. However, according to a study carried out in 2021, this is only true for a minority of cases.
While in many cases vaping is considered a healthier alternative to smoking, the NHS website stresses that “vaping exposes users to some toxins, and we do not yet know what the risks might be in the longer term.”
So, aside from the fact that vaping looks kind of silly, it could be exposing users to toxic chemicals, the effects of which we’re still unaware of.
By contrast, smoking had yet another resurgence recently (the longevity of which is sparking controversy online) despite the undeniable harm it has on people’s bodies. It also remains a great way to make friends.
Over the years, countless conversations have been started by the question: “Hey, have you got a lighter”, or “Do you mind if I nick a cig?” An ice breaker that is timeless in its simplicity, almost transcendent in the brevity of its transactionality, and by no means necessarily confined to the smoking area – although that, of course, is where the phrase truly flourishes.
“Hey, you know those things are killing you!” passersby by heckle at us, as we stand huddled together against the rain, not that anybody asked.
But of course we know. And we revel in it. Defiant in our youth as we put the killing thing between our teeth, and give it the power to do the killing.
Even flaunting our vitality as we breathe out smoke through lips we use to kiss each other, holding a lit cigarette in one hand and the hand of the person next to us in the other.
There remains nothing sexier than someone you fancy like crazy leaning across to light your cigarette for you, or leaning in for a kiss with the scent of smoke still on their breath.
By contrast, no one’s leaning across to light your vape for you, and raspberry ice flavour tastes too much like adolescence to be a turn on. Maybe that’s just me.
Thanks to the ergonomic design of most e-cigarettes, not only are they easy to keep ahold of, but they’re also dangerously easy to conceal. Some people are even sleeping with them clasped in their hands.
While this might seem convenient, it prevents the sometimes necessary interaction that comes with asking if anyone’s got a spare lighter, or having to step outside into the cold night air away from the flashing lights of the nightclub to be able to satisfy your craving – and maybe have a conversation in the process.
I’m not a smoker but there’s something very sweet about how strangers will go up to each other and ask for lighters or cigarettes and then just stand together and chat for a few minutes and smoke together
The idea then, of having yet another harmful device, this time one that you inhale, to keep a hold of while the brain rot sets in, without even a reason to step outside (even if the concept of fresh air is by this point essentially mute) cannot be good for our mental health as a generation.
Has the loneliness epidemic reached a level that even damaging our health has become a solitary activity rather than – at the very least – a sacrificial offering of your lungs in exchange for friends and good memories?
And if it’s not cigs, what will get us to step out from within the confines of our rooms?
Annie (She/Her) – Originally from Newcastle Upon-Tyne, Annie’s writing focuses mostly on class and feminist issues, with a particular interest in sex-culture, identity politics, and current affairs. She studied both her undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in English literature at the University of Manchester. (Yes, it was a lot of reading. No, it didn’t ruin books for her). Follow her on Twitter or Instagram, or feel free to get in touch via email.
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