Dr Fahad Ibrahim looks at the rise of vaping within today's youth culture and what it means within a social context.
Vaping has become a defining feature of youth culture. It’s visible on social media feeds, outside schools and universities, and across friendship groups. For many young adults, vaping is not simply a nicotine product; it is how they socialise, manage stress, signal identity, and feel they belong.
This creates a difficult public health challenge. Many young people know that vaping may be harmful, addictive or unpredictable in its long-term effects, and may even view it as irresponsible. Yet awareness alone rarely leads to quitting. The key question is: why do young people continue to vape when they already have reasons to stop?
In our latest article in the British Journal of Management, we explored this question through 21 in-depth interviews and a survey of 804 young adult vapers in the UK. We examined how young people explain vaping to themselves, how they weigh up the pros and cons, and what might motivate them to quit.
Our findings show that vaping decisions are shaped by a tension between uncertainty, social pressure and future expectations. Young vapers often cited unclear health information, distrust of vaping-related claims and difficulty tracking their nicotine intake. Unlike cigarettes, which are counted in sticks or packs, vaping can feel continuous, casual and harder to measure. This makes it difficult for users to gauge their consumption and feel in control. This also helps explain why the immediate social benefits of vaping may carry more weight than health risks that feel distant, uncertain or difficult to assess.
At the same time, vaping carries social meaning. It can help young people feel included, avoid standing out, and fit in. For this reason, quitting is not just a health choice; it can feel like a social risk. Our findings suggest that the fear of being excluded from friendship groups can weaken young people's concerns about vaping, even when they recognise its disadvantages.
Crucially, the study suggested that uncertainty does not automatically prompt quitting; instead, it often creates ambivalence. Young people feel pulled in two directions – weighing health concerns against social benefits. But this ambivalence can become a turning point. When young people focus on their future health, wellbeing or finances, their conflicting feelings may be more strongly associated with an intention to quit.
This has important implications for public health campaigns. Simply warning young people that vaping is harmful may not be enough. Communications must help users accurately evaluate risks, providing clearer information about nicotine intake, more transparent health claims, and messaging that addresses social pressures surrounding vaping. Schools, families, public health bodies and policymakers all have a role to play.
Youth vaping is not just a problem of risk awareness; it is also a challenge of uncertainty, belonging, and identity. To be effective, public health campaigns must speak to the real reasons young people continue to vape, rather than simply repeating risks they already know. Helping young people see a future without vaping, while addressing their fears of social exclusion, may be an important step towards encouraging them to quit.
Assistant Professor in Marketing
Dr Ibrahim's research interests include consumer research, digital marketing, service marketing, and strategic marketing.
