Discussing vaping with teenagers

[Grandadwasthatyou]

I have a 14 year old ds. Recently when I was taking the washing out of the machine I found a vape. Questioned him and he said he had found it on the street which of course I did not believe.
This morning, again in the machine, I found a bottle of vape liquid.
Neither his Dad nor I smoke or vape and I can't bear to think of him walking around the streets doing this. He is very easily led and would not have the courage to say no if asked by a peer to join in.
My question is how do I tackle this with him? I have a tendency to lecture, which I know will not work and will probably want to make him do it more.

He has an older 16 year old sister who has admitted she has tried it but didn't like it. I know most teenagers want to experiment but I am really worried he becomes addicted as you can be to vapes just as easily as cigarettes.

Is there a site I could get some facts from as a starter to our "conversation" and has anybody had personal experience of this?

I listened to a podcast called the vaping fix, which was really interesting about how it all started. It also has some scary stories about the effects they can have. Might be a good listen for you?

If you have a Google you will find images of peoples lungs who have never smoked but have vaped, a lot of teenagers seem to think it is risk free. It is not. Also look into geek bars they definitely need to be avoided.

I would be interested in seeing those images. There is a lot of false information and doctored images out there from the paid anti vaping /anti smoking groups especially coming from the US.

It’s amazing how it is only the US that seems to have this problem🤔 but if you actually look closely at the US data the vast majority of young people that vape are using the devices to vape THC and illegal drugs not nicotine. If you look at the U.K. for instance where the government approves vaping youth smoking numbers are plummeting and youth vaping numbers are very low especially in young people who have never smoked. No major adverse effects have been reported by the nearly 3.5 million people who vape. There is so much false information coming out of the US it’s crazy.

I think if we saw THC legalised here the number of vapers would shoot up.

I would start with asking them why they are choosing to vape. Teens are always going to try things they are not supposed to and it’s important to provide them with accurate information. I would try the NHS as they have some very good factual information on vaping.