Nicotine is highly addictive. Consequently, it seems extraordinary that the tobacco companies have been able to present vaping as a safe activity. It's certainly better for cigarette-smoking addicts to switch to vaping, as they wont be exposed to cancer-causing tars. It's not, however, a good idea to convert children into the next generation of nicotine addicts. This is clearly what is being achieved by the setting up of mushrooming vaping stores, the introduction of 'child-appealing' flavoured vapes and the boosting, by social media sites, of the 'cool tricks' that can be done with smoke. The chickens are, as they say, 'now coming home to roost'. Liverpool's Alder Hey Children's Hospital has opened a new vaping cessation service for 11-15 year olds (https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/feb/03/first-patients-seen-at-nhs-clinic-in-liverpool-tackling-teenage-vaping). Vaping isn't an innocent pleasure. Neither is it, a well-intentioned attempt to reduce the medical risks of cigarette smokers. The long-term consequences of vaping have not yet been established. Vaping is clearly designed to maintain the profits of tobacco companies. As usual, with these companies, the general public is left to pick up the bill for their victims.
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