Got a call today — my little brother (he’s 17) got caught vaping in the school bathroom. Honestly, I’m still processing it.
I’ve been vaping for years. I never gave it to him, never encouraged it, but now I’m wondering if just seeing me do it made him think it’s normal or harmless.
He says it was just “one time” and “didn’t have nicotine,” but we all know how that story goes.
I’m not his dad, but I feel responsible. I want to talk to him without being a hypocrite, but also without brushing it off.
If anyone’s been in a similar spot — how do you handle this? What actually gets through to a 17-year-old?
To be honest, not a lot gets through to 17 year olds. It may not have been necessarily you that got him onto them so I wouldn’t take it to heart too much - friends and peer pressure play such a massive role in this these days not parents and cousins. I’m not sure where you are from, but I’d maybe just educate him on what’s in them (I’m happy to provide some further insight with studies and the UK view on them if you want to DM me, as I’m a qualified stop smoking assistant with over 5 years experience in the vaping industry) and what can make them potentially dangerous to someone who has never vaped before (nicotine acting as blood thinner, feeling sick when over doing it and so on) and then let him come to his own conclusion on whether it’s a good idea or not. I’m always in the mind that I’d rather the kid vape than smoke, however if they choose to do either, they must demonstrate good base knowledge on what they are doing and know which products/strengths to stay away from.
Honestly, we cannot encourage tenagers to try vaping. The ingrediants of liquid is complex and it is more dangerous for users to add extra materials. E - cigarettes contain harmful chemicals such as nicotine, which is highly addictive. Once teenagers become addicted, it can affect their concentration and academic performance. Moreover, the nicotine in e - cigarettes can damage the developing brains of teenagers, potentially leading to problems with memory and learning abilities.