Banning disposable vape products or increasing their prices could lead young people to revert to smoking tobacco, a new study has suggested.
The research, ‘Young People’s use of Disposable Vapes: A Qualitative Study’, published in the journal Addiction, revealed that young people see smoking and vaping as interchangeable, but are far more aware of the potential harms of vaping than they are of the dangers of smoking.
Many of the young people questioned also believed that if disposable vapes were banned they would be able to continue using them by stockpiling or purchasing illegally.
The study, led by the University of East Anglia, recruited 29 young people aged between 16 and 20 and a range of methods were used to probe their motivations, experiences and perceptions of using disposable vapes.
The key findings include:
- Individual Motivations: Participants highlighted key characteristics of disposable vapes that appealed to them, such as affordability, ease of access, and the attractive designs, colours, names, and flavours.
- Behaviour Patterns: Many young people engaged in both vaping and tobacco smoking, viewing these behaviours as interchangeable based on the context. There was a common misconception about the relative harms of vaping compared to smoking.
- Social and Emotional Factors: Experimentation with vapes was prevalent, and many young people used vapes to manage stress and anxiety. Vaping was also identified as a social activity, widely accepted among peer groups. Notably, participants were more informed about the potential harms of vaping than those associated with smoking.
- Regulation: Strict regulatory measures, such as banning disposable vape products or increasing their prices, could lead young people to revert to smoking tobacco. Many of the young people believed that if disposable vapes were banned they would be able to continue using them by stockpiling or purchasing illegally.
The researchers say the study suggests that young people’s use of disposable vapes could be reduced by tighter enforcement of age of sale and restricting packaging and marketing.
However, they also say the evidence suggests these sorts of interventions have the potential for significant unintended consequences, including increased use of illicit vapes and, most worryingly, increased tobacco use amongst young people.
“Therefore any interventions to combat use of disposables may need to be accompanied by policy interventions to reduce access to illicit vapes and tobacco and increase awareness of the relative harms of tobacco compared to vapes,” Caitlin Notley, a professor of addiction sciences at UEA’s Norwich Medical School, said.
