Vape warning as teens already show health issues from 'gateway to smoking' habit

The largest study ever into youth vapinghas concluded it is a gateway to smoking and painted a picture of the health impacts the habit is already having on our teenagers.

Experts have now issued a stark warning to parents and ministers that children who pick up e-cigarettes are at a three times higher risk to go on to become smokers. Researchers from the University of York and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine analysed 56 separate reviews covering almost 400 individual studies from around the world in what is known as an umbrella review.

Their findings, published in the journal Tobacco Control, show a consistent pattern that young people who vape are three times more likely to start smoking cigarettes later in life, more likely to smoke more heavily, and more likely to suffer a worrying range of health problems. Dr Su Golder, associate professor in health science at the University of York, said the strength of the evidence could no longer be ignored.

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“The consistency in the evidence is striking,” she explained. “Across multiple studies, young people who use e-cigarettes are more likely to smoke in the future. These findings support stronger public health measures to protect teens from the risks associated with vaping.”

Her co-author, Dr Greg Hartwell, clinical assistant professor at LSHTM, said the picture was clear: “We found consistent evidence around transitions to smoking which of course, in turn, opens the door to the multitude of harms that conventional cigarettes bring. As the UK Government’s chief medical officer states, marketing vapes to children is always unacceptable, and our review shows exactly why further restrictions on the tobacco industry, who control the vaping market, are so important.”

The review paints a disturbing picture of the impact e-cigarettes are already having on young people. Children who take up vaping are not just storing up trouble for the future, but are showing signs of harm now.

The data showed an increased risk of asthma and asthma attacks, along with higher rates of pneumonia and bronchitis. Teenagers reported dizziness, headaches and migraines, while researchers also flagged evidence of reduced sperm counts in boys and links to depression, anxiety and even suicidal thoughts.

Alongside this comes a greater risk of alcohol misuse and marijuana use, suggesting that for many young people vaping is part of a broader gateway into addictive substances. Dr Rebecca Glover, assistant professor at LSHTM and senior author of the study, said the evidence should alarm policymakers everywhere.

“Vaping is having a detrimental impact on the health of young people globally and vaping appears to be a gateway to other substances,” she said. "Our study provides the strongest evidence to date that young people globally face a serious range of physical and psychological harms from vaping and are at higher risk of transitioning to smoking.”

The warnings come amid an explosion of vaping among schoolchildren in Britain. NHS figures show that one in ten children aged 11 to 15 now vape regularly, while a quarter of that age group admitted trying it in 2023.

Teachers across the country say confiscations of vapes have soared, and one hospital trust revealed that nearly 17 per cent of those seized in schools had been spiked with synthetic cannabinoids, the same dangerous lab-made drugs once sold on the streets as Spice. The NHS has even been forced to step in with its first clinic designed to help children hooked on vaping quit the habit.

Based at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool, the service has already begun treating patients aged 11 to 15. Doctors there are offering counselling and nicotine replacement therapy to help wean them off their dependence.

In response The Government launched a crackdown June this year and disposable vapes were banned across the UK, covering both nicotine and non-nicotine products and making it illegal for any shop or online retailer to sell them. The bill also promises tighter restrictions on vape marketing and sales to prevent children from being targeted.