Vaping. A modern mask for an old habit?

Many things looks like to use as normal, now today we all know that smoking is bad for our health, but we still do it. For years, our parents told us “smoking it’s not right” as an young men or woman we mostly recieved that advices. If not directly, we heard it somewhere before. But as we grow up it’s on us that decision. Despite the warnings, it’s up to us to choose whether to take it or not.

Now, it looks like that gap between choosing what’s good or bad for our bodies has disappeared. During my time in New York working as a Ticket Agent in Broadway Pass, I was surprised; dispites of the marihuana being everywhere, by the number of young people, some as young as 11 or 13, incluiding teenagers and even families, using something called vaping. What I’m want you express is that vaping hides in plain sight, a modern mask for an old habit. Is it evolution, or just a clever disguise?

The Rise of Vaping: Innovation or Deception?

Vaping emerged as a modern alternative to cigarrete. With it’s elegant design and attractive flavors, it seems to offer a completely new experience. However, how is it that millions of young people and adults, many of whom were never regular smokers have become users?

Dr. Sarah Jackson from University College London (UCL) states, "The public-health impact of the 'substantial rise' in vaping among people who have never regularly smoked depends on what they would otherwise be doing." But behind this facade of innovation, there is something all too familiar: nicotine. Isn’t this the very thing we were trying to leave behind?

Vaping and the Potential for a New Smoking Epidemic

Michael Blaha, M.D., M.P.H. , a professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins mention an interesting question: Vaping and e-cigarettes are sometimes promoted as ways to help cigarette smokers quit. But what about the reverse? Can vaping lead to regular cigarette smoking later on?

Blaha states that while the FDA (The Food and Drug Administration) has recently taken a stance that is more toward what it calls “modified risk” tobacco products that cause less harm than smoking, vaping is certainly more harmful than not using anything at all.

Whether to be socially accepted, follow trends, or be influenced by friends, nicotine is something we cannot escape if we consider caping a better alternative to cigarettes.

One of Blaha’s main concerns is that we might be creating the next smoking epidemic by getting young people addicted to electronic cigarettes early in life.

If we were to disagree with Blaha, what would be the actual benefits? As human beings, we always expect to gain something, whether a benefit or the fulfillment of something we didn’t even realize we were missing. Have we become victims of the advertising behind this new trend?

The Role of Marketing: Targeting Youth?

The following article by Watts, C., Rose, S., McGill, B., & Yazidjoglou, A. (2024) mentions two major companies: Altria (the American parent company of Philip Morris USA) and JUUL Labs (the leading e-cigarette brand in the U.S.). According to the article, "The research arm ‘JLI Science’ was established to ‘expand the body of scientific knowledge around electronic nicotine delivery system products, which we believe can offer adult smokers a non-combustible alternative to combustible cigarettes and, in so doing, reduce the harm associated with tobacco use” (JUUL Labs Science, 2024).

However, the article also highlights that youth-centered promotions and marketing play a key role in raising awareness. Research shows that exposure to e-cigarette marketing is associated with experimentation among adolescents and young adults (Collins et al., 2019). If JUUL Labs' main target is adult smokers, why do they spend an absurd amount of money on advertising? Between 2018 and 2019, JUUL spent US$57 million on television ads. While the industry consistently argues that these advertisements are directed at adult smokers, it is highly likely that they also attract young audiences (Struik et al., 2020).

It’s incredible how a simple phrase or the way something is advertised can change our perception—making vaping seem "less harmful than cigarettes." The widespread exposure of vaping advertisements on social media has lowered risk perception among adolescents and young adults, allowing this modern mask to become normalized in a society already drowning in the tide of new trends.

The Bigger Picture: A New Generation of Nicotine Addicts?

Those attractive flavors, discreet design and aggressive marketing have made these products popular among teenagers, which could be creating a new generation of nicotine addicts. If the main target of these companies was the youth from the beginning, why are they still using the excuse of helping smokers reduce harm? Is it truly about health, or is there something else at play?

The discreet design, attractive flavors, and relentless marketing of vaping products have made them especially appealing to teenagers. What was once promoted as a safer alternative to smoking now risks creating a new generation of nicotine addicts, fueling an industry that profits while masking the true consequences.

In the end, the choice is ours. But before picking up a vape, perhaps we should ask ourselves: Are we really leaving cigarettes behind, or are we just stepping into a new, disguised form of the same habit?

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