MSYP: Troublesome vaping 'has taken over youth culture'

The vape smoke-filled rooms in the modern day may be nostalgic but they definitely aren’t pleasant for the bystander.

The book of Ecclesiastes says nothing is new under the sun and that is certainly true when it comes to the widespread nicotine addiction that we are seeing today.

Vaping has taken over youth culture.

Every social event that you attend as a teenager in the 2020’s, vaping is ubiquitous.

There are many reasons that young people vape. Some think it makes them look cool, it keeps them in sync with the crowd.

Others vape socially and on a rare occasion in order to be part of the culture but protected from the overt health damages.

The most concerning cohort of young nicotine addicts is those who use vaping as a stress-reliever and as an escape from their everyday reality.

Rather than seek help or speak openly about their stresses and poor mental health, young people are turning to vaping which offers a temporary relaxing effect.

This is unsustainable and will create even more issues down the road.

Studies show that vaping will cause disastrous health conditions in the years to come that will put significant pressures on the NHS just as smoking did. This means we need to act.

Many young people that I speak to do not understand the full dangers that vaping presents, with one fellow teenager telling me "it’s just flavoured air".

We need more education in our schools to prevent young people from naively falling into this habit.

The most important action that decision-makers must take is to ban disposable vapes.

Disposable vapes are single-use and are thrown away immediately after they are used. They end up in landfill or littering the streets, presenting a real hazard to the environment.

If you visit a train station in Inverclyde, you will see the tracks littered with hundreds of plastic disposable vapes that will likely never be removed.

Banning disposable vapes would be a game-changer. A few months ago, I had a conversation outside the local shops with a group of six boys all aged roughly 15.

They all stated that they would give up the habit if disposable vapes were banned. This is due to the convenience being taken away.

Rather than buy a vape for £5 or less and throw it away once it was used, they would have to invest in charging equipment and refill oils for a rechargeable vape.

This is seen by many young people as too much hassle.

I encourage the Tele’s readership to explain the dangers of vaping to your young people but don’t react with anger if they admit that they have experimented with vaping.

Decision-makers must step up and protect young people. Intervention is urgently needed. Ban disposable vapes.

Young people may not thank you for it now but they will when they, one day, realise the dangers for themselves.