Dear friend: Please quit the vape

From school toilets to corner shops, social media to parties, it is an ever-present entity. When something surrounds you like that, of course it starts to feel ordinary, especially with the way it’s advertised as “harmless”.

But it’s not.

Statistics show just how deeply it’s become part of youth culture. Around 20% of 11–17- year-olds in Great Britain have tried vaping; that’s 1.1 million young people! About 7% currently vape, and around 40% of those vape daily. Older teens vape more often than younger ones. Nearly 1 in 10 secondary school pupils vape regularly or occasionally. That’s not a coincidence but rather the influence of advertisement.

Yes, vapes are technically safer than cigarettes, but they are no less addictive. They also contain poisonous drugs such as nicotine, which changes how your skin heals. Studies show vapers have slower wound healing, more breakouts, and duller skin because nicotine reduces oxygen and blood flow. You may think you found a loophole through nicotine-free vapes, but it is still present through contamination, mislabelling, or international deception by manufacturers. Additionally, vaping causes your dopamine receptors to down regulate: a protective mechanism where the brain reduces sensitivity to dopamine in response to chronic overstimulation. It makes life feel unrewarding. The use of vapes increases the risk of severe organ damage, a fatal illness that causes the dysfunction of 1 or more of your
essential organs, by 75%, compared to a healthy individual.

While researching, I found the American company JUUL Labs, which does not only sell their products but equally an image. When JUUL first became popular, its adverts were full of bold colours and young models who looked like people our age having fun rather than an adult trying to quit smoking. Furthermore, flavours such as mango, strawberry cheesecake and cotton candy are engineered to taste pleasant to people like you, who have never smoked before. Packaging them into devices that look sleek and harmless, like USB sticks, the illusion that vaping is part of growing up, is shrewdly crafted.

And that’s where advertising and peer pressure blend together. When you see it online, in shops, and in your friends’ hands, it stops feeling like a decision and starts feeling like an expectation. Yes, many individuals genuinely like it, but you have to wonder where that “liking” even started. Was it really an individual choice? Or was it sparked by bright packaging and watching friends do it first? By wanting to fit in? By not wanting to be the only one without a cloud of vapour around you? Peer pressure and clever marketing work hand in hand. One makes it look desirable; the other makes it feel necessary.

I’m not saying all advertisements are wrong, but you should distinguish between the posts that are harmful and the ones that mean well. For example, Big Manny, who has 1.6m followers on Instagram, and Bodalia, a doctor and DJ, who are joining forces in the first official initiative to try to dissuade under-18s from using e-cigarettes. As a part of a 10-year government scheme named “Love your lungs”.

The most worrisome part is that our brains are still developing. Addiction hits harder the younger you start. Once vaping becomes a habit, it isn’t just willpower anymore – it’s chemistry.

I’m not suggesting quitting is easy. I know it’s not. Adverts show a highlight reel and suggest vaping relieves stress, boosts confidence, or helps you fit in. What they don’t show are the health effects, the money spent, or how hard it can be to stop. The companies know that if they hook someone young, they may have a customer for years. That’s what frustrates me, not you, but rather the way they target people like us.

But you’re smarter than those traps. You deserve better than being pulled into something just because it’s trendy or because everyone else seems fine with it. Fads fade. Marketing campaigns evolve. But the impact on your body doesn’t. You have every right to step back and say, “Actually, this isn’t for me,” even if you’re the only one. Real friends won’t judge you for choosing yourself. And by refusing to fall for the pressure, either from adverts or from peers, you’re not missing out. You’re proving you’ve got the confidence to make your own choices.

Honestly? That’s something to be genuinely proud of. And as your friend, I’m asking you to quit for one reason only: you deserve better than being someone else’s target audience.

This ‘letter to a friend’ was written by members of the 2025-2026 NHS and Unloc Youthboard.