Youth vaping has risen sharply. What the health risks are, what the law now says (including the June 2025 disposable-vape ban), and how to talk to your child about it.
Vaping among children has grown quickly, driven by cheap disposable devices, sweet flavours, and colourful marketing. Most vapes contain nicotine, which is highly addictive and can affect the developing adolescent brain. Vaping is far less studied than smoking, but it is not risk-free, and it is illegal to sell nicotine vapes to under-18s.
Disposable vapes made experimentation cheap and easy, and bright packaging and flavours such as bubblegum and cotton candy appeal to children. From 1 June 2025 the sale of single-use (disposable) vapes was banned across the UK, but reusable and illicit devices remain widely available, including through social media. Nicotine creates dependence quickly, and the liquid itself is poisonous if swallowed by a young child.
1. Get the facts and talk early
Use NHS and ASH resources so you can talk accurately rather than from myth. Ask what your child has seen or been offered, keep it a conversation rather than a lecture, and make clear they can be honest with you.
2. Address the marketing, not just the product
Help your child see how flavours, influencers, and packaging are designed to appeal to them. Media-literacy framing — spotting the sell — often lands better with teenagers than a health warning alone.
3. Store and dispose of vapes safely
Nicotine e-liquid is poisonous if swallowed. Keep any adult vapes and refills out of reach of younger children, and treat this the same way as other household poisons.
ตรวจสอบล่าสุด: 2026-07-27
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