Indore(Madhya Pradesh): Earlier smoking was considered an unhealthy practice that caused extreme damage to the lungs over a long period of time but noe, GenZ has developed a special craving for ‘healthier’ alternatives of smoking; Vape. However, doctors have mentioned that vaping might be more harmful than cigarettes.
Free Press spoke to a few Gen-Zs to understand about vaping, its addiction and harmful effects.
1. Peer pressure and vaping
Peer pressure and vaping | AI Generated
Riya (name changed) never thought of herself as someone who could get addicted to anything.
She didn’t drink. She didn’t sneak out. She didn’t break rules. She just vaped.
It started during exam season. Her friend handed her a sleek, strawberry-flavoured device outside the library.
“It helps,” he said. “Just one puff.” It did help, or at least it felt like it worked. Her mind slowed down. The buzzing anxiety in her chest softened.
For a few minutes, the pressure to perform, to be perfect, to never fall behind faded. So she kept it. Not dramatically. Not obsessively. Just in small moments when things became hard for her.
She describes this time period of vaping as Cool, modern and an expression of freedom but after she graduated from college, she realised that vaping was more harmful than anything.
2. Calms anxious minds but increases lung damage
Calms anxious minds but increases lung damage | AI Generated
When Kabir (name changed) first bought the vape, it wasn’t a rebellion. It was curiosity. His friends had one during a late-night drive, music low, windows cracked open, city lights blurring past. Someone passed it to him like it was a joke.
“Just try it.” It didn’t taste like smoke. It didn’t burn as he expected. It felt harmless. At first, it lived in his backpack, then in his pocket, then in his hand. He used it while waiting for the bus.
While scrolling at night. While thinking. While not thinking. It became punctuation in his day.
Inhale. Pause. Exhale. When he felt awkward in conversations, he took a puff. When he felt bored, he took a puff. When he felt stressed, he took two. He shared, “It calms me down when I’m anxious.” But slowly, something shifted. He recalls, “One day I felt like my throat felt too sore, my muscles in my chest felt sore, and I started thinking I had cancer until I showed myself to a doctor. thank god! I just had a common cold.” he shared that after this incident, he limited himself to smoking vape.
3. Intense addiction and unstoppable urge
Shreya(name changed) and her friends usually hung out at The Hub near Prestige Institute of Management after their classes were over. Her friends usually smoked cigarettes every day, two to three times a day, and she just watched them do so. She had always disliked the smell of smoke, but one day her friends suggested that she try vaping.
“My friends made me try vape, and I did too because I thought it looked cool. The flavour was fruity, not intense and smoky. The smoke did not smell like cigarette smoke, and it was genuinely nice but since I come from a conservative background, I did not continue doing it. My friends did continue, but I have always felt an aversion towards smoking and drinking,” she adds, “I tried telling my friends about its harmful effects, but the craving for such things becomes so intense that they couldn’t stop.”
Vape products are considered harmful because they deliver highly addictive nicotine alongside toxic chemicals, heavy metals, and flavouring agents directly into the lungs. The aerosol produced causes significant health risks, including lung damage, asthma, cardiovascular issues, and potential cancer, often at levels exceeding traditional cigarettes. In India, vaping is illegal; however, many vendors secretly sell them at exaggerated prices and the consumers are mostly young adults or students who percieve vape as healthy.
5 harmful side effects of Vaping
Lung Damage – Vaping can cause breathing problems and serious lung injury.
Strong Nicotine Addiction – Devices from companies like JUUL Labs deliver high nicotine, making addiction easier and stronger.
Heart Problems – It raises heart rate and blood pressure, increasing heart disease risk.
Toxic Chemicals – Vape vapor can contain harmful chemicals and heavy metals.
Brain Effects (Especially under the age of 25) – Nicotine affects memory, mood, and focus, and can increase anxiety.
