Snapchat, Telegram, and Instagram are increasingly used as marketplaces where under-18s buy vapes, nicotine, and illegal drugs. How dealers reach children, the warning signs, and what to do.
It is illegal to sell nicotine vapes or alcohol to under-18s and illegal to supply controlled drugs at any age — but social media has made both easier for children to access. Dealers advertise on Snapchat, Telegram, and Instagram using disappearing messages, emoji code, and local delivery, and the same platforms are used to groom and recruit children into county-lines drug networks.
Sellers post to public or local stories, use emojis and coded language to advertise vapes, nicotine pouches, cannabis, nitrous oxide, or other drugs, and move buyers to encrypted or disappearing chats to arrange payment and drop-offs. Because messages vanish, there is little trace for a parent to find. Vapes bought this way are unregulated: some have been found laced with stronger substances such as synthetic cannabinoids ('spice'). The line between buying and being recruited to sell is thin — county-lines networks deliberately target children through the same channels.
1. Talk about it before it happens
Have an open, non-judgemental conversation about vapes and drugs and how they are sold online. Children are less likely to hide a problem if they know they can come to you without losing their phone. Talk to FRANK has age-appropriate facts to draw on.
2. Use platform safety settings
On Snapchat, set the account to private, turn off 'Quick Add', and limit who can contact them. Discuss why joining local sell/swap groups or accepting unknown contacts is risky. No setting replaces the conversation, but it reduces cold approaches.
3. Know the county-lines overlap
The same channels used to sell to children are used to recruit them. Learn the signs of child criminal exploitation so you can spot the difference between a one-off purchase and grooming into dealing.
ตรวจสอบล่าสุด: 2026-07-27
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