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schools-hero

Resources for schools

A page for school administrators, counsellors, and educators.

Vaping client rating 4.9 | 798 reviews

Vaping is a serious problem in schools and getting worse – with more and more young people vaping than ever before.

They often mistakenly believe that it is safe to do so without understanding the serious impact vaping can have on their physical and mental health.

The marketing of vaping products is often aimed at young people, just like smoking in the last century, with sleek designs, cartoon characters on them and the flavours available.
As you know, social media is full of vape marketing and advertising/product placement via influencers.

The aim of this page is to give you all the information you need to educate yourself as well as connect with youth and teens about vaping.

6 ways to stop vaping in schools

Check out our curated list of the best ways to help reduce vaping in the school environment & help support your students.

6 tips to stop vaping in schools

Teen vaping statistics & facts

E-cigarettes have been on sale for over 10 years but in recent years there has been a rapid increase in adolescents vaping.

two teens vaping learn about teen vaping and statistics

What are teens vaping?

Part of the reason for the growth in teen vaping is that vaping liquid, known as vaping juice comes in many flavours.

The most popular flavours for adolescents & young adults is different in UK & US.

Other reasons for the surge in teen vaping is the lack of regulation (unforgivable given nicotine is a highly addictive drug) and because the vape industry have mercilessly targeted youngsters in their marketing and advertising (and been allowed to do so for over 10 years).

vaping devices

Why do teens vape (use e-cigarettes)?

The reason many US adolescents start vaping is because of the flavours of which there are now an estimated 16,000 available.

Many US teens also report that due to the widespread advertising they are curious about the products and want to try them.

Vapes lost mary

Should teens vape? What you need to know.

E-cigarettes are illegal to be sold to under 18s but they can be ordered online so for a youngster with access to your credit card they are readily available as are the vaping liquids or juices.

Sadly, there are many retail outlets that sell to teens in spite of the law and a thriving black market amongst teens in classrooms across the country.

teen vaping

Vaping devices – easy to hide

Vaping devices are easy to hide and for parents and teachers it can be difficult to spot.

students hiding vaping devices in plain site play_circle_outline

What are the side effects of vaping?

Vaping is probably safer than smoking but it isn’t safe.

Read about the physical and mental health issues it can cause as well as what is in vape juice.

What is in vaping juice?

Vaping liquid / juice contains around 80 different chemicals.

Not one of the four main ingredients in vapes (propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, nicotine and any number of different flavourings) are designed to be breathed into your lungs.

Vapes lost mary

Nicotine free vapes are safe?

Some vaping juices say they are nicotine free but it turns out, a lot of times they actually sneak in some nicotine!

And that stuff is super addictive.

But nicotine is only one of the nasty chemicals that are in vape juice.

vape flavours

How to talk to teens about vaping and help them to quit vaping

Read some simple tips to help your teen to quit but the best way is to use Allen Carr’s Easyway for teens to quit vaping

teen vaping

A few client videos

justynanottina vaping testimonial usa play_circle_outline
Justyna, US

Vaping

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Emma, US

Smoking

rebeliza 2 vaping ireland testimonial play_circle_outline
Rebeliza, Ireland

Vaping

lexwright vaping testimonial us play_circle_outline
Lex Wright 2, US

Vaping

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east
Side effects of vaping

Vaping is not safe. Read how it affects teens both mentally and physically.

How vaping affects you navigate_next
Resources for teens

Learn what is in vapes, how they can harm your health both physical and mental, how to deal with friends who vape and much more

More info for teens navigate_next

References:

  1. Wang TW, Neff LJ, Park-Lee E, et al. E-cigarette Use Among Middle and High School Students — United States, 2020. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 2020;69. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6937e1.htm?s_cid=mm6937e1_w%20
  2. Samir S. Soneji, Kristin E. Knutzen, Andrea C. Villanti. Use of Flavored E-Cigarettes Among Adolescents, Young Adults, and Older Adults: Findings From the Population Assessment for Tobacco and Health Study. Public Health Reports, 2019; 003335491983096 DOI: 1177/0033354919830967 http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0033354919830967
  3. Goniewicz ML, Gupta R, Lee YH, et al. Nicotine levels in electronic cigarette refill solutions: a comparative analysis of products from the United States, Korea, and Poland. Int J Drug Policy. 2015;26(6):583–588. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25724267/
  4. The New England Journal of Medicine : Trends in Adolescent Vaping, 2017–2019 October 10, 2019 N Engl J Med 2019; 381:1490-1491 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMc1910739 https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc1910739 and University of Michigan Monitoring the Future vaping survey 2021 Richard Miech; Adam Leventhal; Lloyd Johnston Pediatrics October 2020, JAMA Pediatr. 2021;175(2):185-190; DOI: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2020.5667, 2022 update
  5. Centres for Disease control and Prevention https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/e-cigarettes/Quick-Facts-on-the-Risks-of-E-cigarettes-for-Kids-Teens-and-Young-Adults.html
  6. Willett JG, Bennett M, Hair EC, et al Recognition, use and perceptions of JUUL among youth and young adults. Tobacco Control Published Online First: 18 April 2018. doi: 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2018-054273 https://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/28/1/115
  7. US Department of Health and Human Services. E-cigarette Use Among Youth and Young Adults: A Report of the Surgeon Generalpdf icon[PDF – 8.47MB]. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2016. Accessed July 27, 2018. https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/sgr/e-cigarettes/pdfs/2016_sgr_entire_report_508.pdf and US Department of Health and Human Services. E-cigarette Use Among Middle and High School Students 2020pdf icon[PDF – 8.47MB]. US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2020. Weekly / September 18, 2020 / 69(37);1310–1312. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6937e1.htm?s_cid=mm6937e1_w
  8. July 2018 Gallup poll https://news.gallup.com/poll/237818/young-people-adopt-vaping-smoking-rate-plummets.aspx
  9. Parental Awareness of Youth Tobacco Use and the Role of Household Tobacco Rules in Use Prevention Tsu-Shuan Wu and Benjamin W. Chaffee Pediatrics October 2020, e20194034; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2019-4034 https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2020/10/01/peds.2019-4034
  10. ASH Use of e-cigarettes among young people in Great Britain ASH-Factsheet-Youth-E-cigarette-Use-2019 , YouthEcig2020 , , Use-of-e-cigarettes-among-young-people-in-Great-Britain-2021, Use-of-e-cigarettes-among-young-people-in-Great-Britain-2022, https://ash.org.uk/uploads/Use-of-vapes-among-young-people-GB-2023-v2.pdf
  11. National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine Public Health Consequences of E-Cigarettes Report – https://www.nap.edu/resource/24952/012318ecigaretteConclusionsbyEvidence.pdf
  12. World Health Organisation Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic 2021
  13. Raymond BH, Collette-Merrill K, Harrison RG, Jarvis S, Rasmussen RJ. The nicotine content of a sample of E-cigarette liquid manufactured in the United States. Journal of Addiction Medicine. 2018;12(2):127–131. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29280749/
  14. NHS: Flavouring found in e-cigarettes linked to ‘popcorn lung’ https://www.nhs.uk/news/heart-and-lungs/flavouring-found-in-e-cigarettes-linked-to-popcorn-lung/
  15. A review of the comparative mammalian toxicity of ethylene glycol and propylene glycol J S LaKind 1, E A McKenna, R P Hubner, R G Tardiff Crit Rev Toxicol. 1999 Jul;29(4):331-65. doi: 10.1080/10408449991349230 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10451263/
  16. A toxicological review of the propylene glycols J Fowles, M Banton, L Pottenger Crit Rev Toxicol 2013 Apr;43(4):363-90. doi: 10.3109/10408444.2013.792328 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23656560/
  17. Propylene Glycol Toxicity in Children T. Lim, R. Poole, and N. Pageler, J Pediatr Pharmacol Therv.19(4); Oct-Dec 2014PMC4341412 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4341412/
  18. Fuoco, F.C.; Buonanno, G.; Stabile, L.; Vigo, P., “Influential parameters on particle concentration and size distribution in the mainstream of e-cigarettes,” Environmental Pollution 184: 523-529, January 2014.
    https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749113005307
  19. Grana, R; Benowitz, N; Glantz, S. “Background Paper on E-cigarettes,” Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, University of California, San Francisco and WHO Collaborating Center on Tobacco Control. December 2013.
  20. Goniewicz, M.L.; Knysak, J.; Gawron, M.; Kosmider, L.; Sobczak, A.; Kurek, J.; Prokopowicz, A.; Jablonska-Czapla, M.; Rosik-Dulewska, C.; Havel, C.; Jacob, P.; Benowitz, N., “Levels of selected carcinogens and toxicants in vapour from electronic cigarettes,” Tobacco Control [Epub ahead of print], March 6, 2013
  21. Williams, M.; Villarreal, A.; Bozhilov, K.; Lin, S.; Talbot, P., PLoS ONE 8(3): e57987, March 20, 2013.
  22. Henderson, TR; Clark, CR; Marshall, TC; Hanson, RL; & Hobbs, CH. “Heat degradation studies of solar heat transfer fluids,” Solar Energy, 27, 121-128. 1981.
  23. Williams, M.; Villarreal, A.; Bozhilov, K.; Lin, S.; Talbot, P., “Metal and silicate particles including nanoparticles are present in electronic cigarette cartomizer fluid and aerosol,” PLoS ONE 8(3): e57987, March 20, 2013.
  24. Lerner, C.A.; Rutagarama, P.; Ahmad, T.; Sundar, I.K.; Elder, A.; Rahman, I., “Electronic cigarette aerosols and copper nanoparticles induce mitochondrial stress and promote DNA fragmentation in lung fibroblasts,” Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications 477(4): 620-625, September 2, 2016.
  25. Guardian Newspaper https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/mar/18/uk-health-expert-raises-alarm-at-epidemic-of-vaping-among-teenagers
  26. Elf bar nicotine levels Dr. Onkar Mudhar https://vaping360.com/learn/how-much-nicotine-is-in-a-elf-bar/#:~:text=Nicotine%20in%20a%20cigarette%20compared%20to%20Elf%20Bars,-A%20recent%20Tiktok&text=Dr.,equivalent%2020%20milligrams%20of%20nicotine.%E2%80%9D
  27. United states most popular vape flavor teenagers – Statista 2022
  28. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. National Youth Tobacco Survey 2022
  29. The Unexpected Harms of Vaping https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/understanding-health-behaviors/202309/the-unexpected-harms-of-vaping
  30. Vaping and mental health: What’s the connection?https://blogs.bcm.edu/2021/05/06/vaping-and-mental-health-whats-the-connection/