Vaping

[yumscrumfatbum]

Ds (almost 17) told DH and I that he wants to buy a Vaper with his first wage packet. He started at College in September and has a new weekend job. His new friends at College go outside in the breaks and vape. He has been having a go and likes it and wants to have one of his own. He says it warms him up and tastes nice. I suggested a coat and some mints! My instant reaction is horror. I would hate any of my children to smoke and I cannot separate the two in my mind. Dh's parents both died of smoking related cancers. Dh told him no never in my house/presence etc if I find one I'll throw it away. I understand his reaction but I want to help him make a measured decision. I have read the research results on the .Gov website which describe the risk as 95% less than smoking. Not 100% safe then. Ds says he doesn't want to vape nicotine products. My worry is that it normalizes smoking and it's rituals and will be a gateway to this. Obviously I can't stop him buying one or using them without my knowledge but he does seem to be looking for our permission which gives me the opportunity to discuss it with him. Am I over reacting? Is it a passing trend for teens?

I wouldn't trust Gov reports. It's early days. Cigarettes used to be prescribed for bronchial problems. Who knows what problems long term vaping may cause?

I'd appeal to his financial sense. Ask him if there's anything big he's dreamed of owning or doing: a world trip or first car. Work out how much vaping will cost him per year and how much he'd save by just standing chatting to his mates, not vaping his hard earned cash away. See if that persuades him?

My worry is that it normalizes smoking and it's rituals

Those are precisely my concerns.

I am dubious about the health risks but I think they are irrelevant from the POV of a smoker who has switched to vamping. I imagine that the benefits of giving up smoking far outweigh them. From the POV of someone who isn't a smoker taking it up I am less convinced.

I vape, as a way to stop smoking I have found it fantastic I havent smoked for over a year.

I get the social side of smoking, that is what has always got me back to smokong in the past. Work has always been my downfall when ot comes to giving up, when everybody goes out.

But I wouldnt be happy for him to start vaping if he has never smoked. I think you need to say if he does he needs to go to a proper vape shop and get a good quality kit and vape oil that has been made in this country rather than in china using cheap products. You might find the price puts him off. My kit cost over £100.

The .Gov stats are obviously in comparison to smoking and clearly it's a safer option for smokers. Ds has never smoked, tried it once and didn't like it. He tells me he would never smoke after watching the effects on his Grandmother. I don't understand why he would want to start down the vaping road when he dislikes the idea of smoking. Discussing the financial side is great advice he already considers himself something of an expert and has told me he wouldn't get a crap cheap one!

He really needs to go to a proper vape shop then. The upkeep isnt cheap either. I pay £15 for 5 new coils. They need changing anything from every couple of days to 2 weeks. The oil cost me on average £6 a bottle, and i use on average 2 bottles a week. Its cheaper than smoking, but not cheap.

I vape but its because I used to smoke. that anyone who has never smoked would want to take it up. However there are (I believe) nicotine free oils around if he really must.

tell him hes being really weird. Its not a social thing, its a way to kick smoking

im not sure I even believe this

Branleuse I can only speak for the trend amoungst my children and their peers but I can tell you that it is a thing. I took my younger chidren to a fireworks event last night and there was a group of my younger sons peers (year 10) vaping. I see children outside the secondary school doing it. It seems to me that these are being marketed at children, the flavours, the tech it appeals to them. It's big business for the tobacco companies. I wish I had made it up :-(

tell him hes being really weird. Its not a social thing, its a way to kick smoking

Sorry, I think you are wrong. It is, or is becoming, a social thing as a replacement for the role smoking would have taken. A more acceptable alternative to taking up smoking.

well at least you can get nicotine free ones.

Its something that ive honestly never seen, in the large-ish town centre i live in, with lots of schools around me, and having a teenager and knowing many.

I dont think this especially is appealing to teenagers, and I think smoking is massively less common and less socially acceptable now than it was when I was a teenager.,
Having said that, of course some kids will want to try anything

Since 1st October it's illegal for under 18s to purchase ecigs in England. Rest of UK soon to follow. If the OP's DS is able to purchase one report vendor to Trading Standards. Proxy buying illegal too.

I believe it. I see more and more people vaping these days. It's everywhere.

BeezerBubble maybe that's why he discussed it with me, maybe he thought he could persuade me to buy it! I hope to make him realise it's a bad idea all round and I certainly won't support it. Ds always feels the need to do whatever his peers are doing and I'm sure this is about fitting in socially and his perception is that it is harmless

Well as I said proxy buying for under 18s is illegal too so hopefully your ds isn't wanting you to break the law for him just cos his mates do it.

As others have said, it's illegal for him to buy or for someone to buy for him.

Beyond just telling him that, I really wouldn't fret about it. Of all the things teens are liable to experiment with, it's about as far down the scale of risk as you can get and the fact he's discussing it with you suggests he's very unlikely to go off the rails. You obviously have a very good relationship with him.

The normalisation of smoking / gateway thing has been massively talked up in the media but actually there's no evidence this is happening at all. Researchers are finding hardly any youths (or adults) who regularly vape without having previously smoked, let alone never-smoking youths who vape and then move on to smoking. This is all covered in the PHE report you found and factors into their assessment of 95% less risk than smoking.

kimlo you're paying way more than you need to!

Am I? The coils just come from the shop I have always gone to, I havent bothered to look around to see if theyre cheaper somewhere else. I could get cheaper oils, but I find they hurt my throat after a while.

Shops are great, especially when you're getting started because they can get you up and running and troubleshoot if you're having problems, but once you know what you're looking for, they simply can't compete on price. What tank are you using? If you google it, you'll almost definitely get a cheaper deal for coils online.

Eliquid (which contains no oil!) is mostly made of propylene glycol (PG) and vegetable glycerine (VG).

PG: carries flavours better, provides more 'throat hit', but less visible vapour and some people are a bit sensitive to it.

VG: more visible vapour, less likely to give you a sore throat but will gunk up your coil quicker.

Most of the cheaper stuff contains a higher proportion of PG but both of these ingredients are very cheap and you should be able to find liquid with high VG (or even 100% VG) for less than £6/10ml.

Come on over to the stop smoking topic and say hello, there are lots of knowledgeable vapers who can give you some recommendations (I'm no good, I bulk-buy high PG liquid direct from China )

Oil is just what I call it, mostly for want of a better word. The same reason I call my kit my pipe or my dalek .

Its a kanger subtank mini. I do sometimes go in to that section, but I never really seem to understand what theyre all talking about.

Oh jump right in! No question is too stupid, we've all been there There are quite a few newbies on there at the moment and nobody minds explaining things.

A lot of vapers get a bit twitchy if eliquid is called 'oil'. This explains why. My kit is called 'mummy's dummy'

Subtank coils, £8 for 5. UKEcigstore have been around for years and are proper

Thanks, thats loads cheaper! I read the last page of that thread, and they was talk of washing tanks, it had never occcured to me that I should.

I believe the OP as my 17 year old DD has asked me to buy her one

i expect it’s all resolves one way or the other as it was 3 years ago. My DS 14 is vaping; to be honest it’s the least of my worries - and actually even if they do smoke you can’t really stop them by disapproval alone