Vaping has increased among all age and demographic groups and is more popular than traditional cigarettes among high school students. Vaping is when someone uses a handheld electronic device to breathe a mist or vapour into their lungs.

A study done by the University of Cape Town Lung Institute revealed that stress is a key driver behind the rising trend of vaping among affluent South African youth.

‘Many wrongly consider vaping to be safer than smoking’

“Many people wrongly consider vaping to be safer than smoking and feel its okay to vape more often. But we still don’t know the exact contents of vaping liquid and/or their effects,” said Hermanus Mediclinic GP Marisna Venter.

“We are still finding out about the long-term health impact of vaping, as it is only within the past decade that it has become so popular.”

If you vape

Stop what you're doing

And listen to this

"It is so clear you're introducing a laundry list of toxins to the lungs, and they're getting into the bloodstream, and they're crossing the blood-brain barrier." - @hubermanlab pic.twitter.com/u15VZpKtb9

— Huberman Protocols (not Andrew Huberman) (@hubermanrules) November 26, 2023

KLA conducted a poll on why young people vape:

• Stress relief: 41.5% of respondents use vaping to relieve stress, indicating a need for an alternative coping mechanism
• Smoking reduction: 38.2% view vaping as a strategy to reduce or quit smoking.
• Perceived health benefits: 36.6% believe vaping is less harmful than traditional smoking.
• Trendiness: 36.4% are attracted to the trendiness or 'cool factor' associated with vaping.
• Accessibility: 31.3% find vaping products easily accessible.
• Cost-effectiveness: 30.6% consider vaping more affordable than traditional tobacco products.
• Peer influence: 26.4% succumb to peer pressure.
• Family influence: 22.8% are influenced by family members who vape.
• Advertising: 21.9% are swayed by marketing campaigns.

College students who vape, smoke or do both perform worse on cognitive tests than those who do not, a new study found. https://t.co/iNP6IgYNIY

— PhillyVoice (@thephillyvoice) September 17, 2024

The Life Path Health Group conducted a study on the prevalent use of vaping devices and in South Africa, over 25% of matric learners use vaping devices. The average age at which teenagers started vaping was between 14 and 15 years.

Almost 30% of high school respondents reported using their vaping device within an hour of waking and nearly a quarter are unable to go through a school day without vaping.

According to a recent News24 reader survey more than two-thirds of participants believe vaping is as dangerous as smoking and should be legislated in the same way. Only 13% believe vaping “is a better alternative”, while one in five thinks all smokers should be allowed to do “whatever they want without being policed”.

OFM News/Zenande Mpame cg