Vaping
- The White Hatter
- Aug 30, 2022
- 12 min read
Updated: May 19
As a social media safety and digital literacy company that has presented to over 600,000 teens across Canada and the USA, we have, over the past few years, been inundated with questions from parents, teachers, law enforcement, and even students themselves about teen vaping. Although some good articles exist online, very few—if any—include input from teens. Recently, I read a document being distributed to parents in Canada asking that it be forwarded to schools. The author compared teen vape use and sales to drug dealing, insinuating that teens are profiting significantly from selling these products.
If there’s one thing we’ve learned as a company, it’s this: if you want to know the who, what, where, why, and how of teen culture—ask the teens themselves. That’s exactly what we did. With thousands of teens following us across multiple social media platforms, we invited volunteers to speak with us anonymously about vaping. We received hundreds of responses from students across Canada and the United States and conducted over 20 hours of one-on-one online interviews.
What we learned was amazing, enlightening, educational—and, at times—disturbing. We believe you, the reader, will find it the same. Knowledge, when paired with understanding and application, is power. There is too much disinformation about vaping in the parenting space, which is why this article exists. Our hope is that it will offer useful insights for parents, educators, and law enforcement.
UPDATE 2023 (Canada)
According to recently released national data, Canadian teenagers are ranked among the highest in the world in terms of regular vaping.
Health Canada’s Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey (source) reports that 29% of Canadian students in grades 7 to 12 (from a sample of 61,096 students across nine provinces) have tried vaping. While this is down from 34% in 2018–2019, the rate climbs to 41% for students in grades 10–12.
Regular vaping is still common, with 17% of students reporting use within the past month. This is slightly down from 20% in 2018–2019, but again higher in grades 10–12, where over 24% vaped monthly.
Daily vaping rates are at 8% overall and nearly 12% in grades 10–12. Experts say these numbers are among the highest ever recorded globally, underscoring Canada’s youth vaping crisis.
Current research shows that vaping is often perceived by teens as attractive, fun, and socially rewarding (source).
Note: The number of Canadians who had never smoked but began vaping grew from 133,000 in 2017 to 529,200 in 2020.
So, What Is Vaping?
Vaping is the act of using an electronic device to inhale and exhale a liquid that has been heated and turned into an aerosol, often referred to as “vapour.”
Vaping Paraphernalia
MODS
There are four primary types of electronic devices—commonly called "mods"—used for vaping:
#1: Unregulated Mechanical Mod Vapes (also known as “mech” or “box mods”)
These rebuildable devices are typically square, about the size of a deck of cards, and contain batteries and a chipset that controls wattage to a coil. This coil heats up and turns the vaping liquid (commonly called “juice”) into an aerosol to be inhaled. Users can customize these mods with their own coil, tank (which holds the juice), and mouthpiece.
For teens wanting to create large vape clouds, the unregulated mechanical mod is often preferred. These devices are durable and less prone to breakage. According to the teens we interviewed, these mods typically cost between $40.00 and $100.00.
Example: SMOK Brand Box Mod
#2: Regulated Mod Vapes (also known as “Pod Mods”)
Pod mods are non-rebuildable devices with a built-in power source and fixed coil. They are usually smaller, lighter, and more easily concealed—making them more appealing for school use. However, their fragility means they need to be replaced more often compared to box mods.
These mods use preloaded juice pods, some of which are single-use (like Juul pods), while others are refillable. According to the teens interviewed, pod mods typically cost between $30.00 and $50.00.
Some students admitted to using these devices in class by employing a technique called “ghosting”—inhaling the vapour, holding it in their lungs to minimize exhalation clouds, and discreetly hiding the device in a hoodie sleeve. This tactic is effective due to the smaller cloud output of pod mods.
Examples: JUUL, BREEZE, NOVO brand Pod Mods
UPDATE 2024 – JUUL Class Action Lawsuit
Due to a class action lawsuit alleging that JUUL Labs and Altria misled customers about the safety and addictiveness of their products, they agreed to a settlement exceeding $300 million.Source
#3: Dabbing Mod
Dabbing is a slang term for vaping marijuana oil. Teens refer to these devices as “dabbing pens” and typically have one for flavoured juice and another specifically for marijuana oil. Dabbing pens are usually thin and pen-shaped, making them easy to conceal.
#4: Disposable Mod
A newer trend involves disposable mods, which are pre-filled with flavoured juices and ready to use. These devices, like the VuseGo (manufactured by Imperial Tobacco Canada), provide between 500–1500 puffs and cost around $10 CAD. They are not available in all provinces, but teens report easy access through underground markets.Source
UPDATE August 2024
Parents should be aware of rapidly evolving vape designs, many of which appear targeted at youth. Devices now include:
Touchscreens
Built-in games
Animated puff displays
Bluetooth functionality
Rechargeable USB ports
Examples include:
URSA Pocket – resembles a smartphone with games and animations
Craftbox V-Play – looks like a gaming device with puff-based animations
Some teachers have caught students charging these vapes via school USB ports.
JUICES
“Juices” are the liquids placed inside a vape mod to be vaporized, inhaled, and exhaled. The most popular juices among teens are fruit-flavored and tend to emit a sweet smell when exhaled. Many students reported they could easily tell when someone had vaped in a school bathroom simply due to the lingering sweet scent in the air.
Juices come in two delivery formats:
#1: Bottled Juice
These are small plastic bottles labeled with names like Banana Rama, Orange Crush, or Blue Lagoon. The liquids are often brightly colored and used to fill the tanks of unregulated mechanical mod vapes. These tanks, usually located near the mouthpiece, hold the juice that is then vaporized.
#2: Juice Pods
These are small, USB-shaped cartridges that are either:
Single-use (e.g., Juul pods), or
Refillable (a cost-saving option popular among teens)
Most juices cost between $10 and $20 per bottle, depending on brand and type. If a teen doesn’t want to buy a full bottle, they may ask for a “fill”—having a friend fill their vape tank for a fee of $2 to $5. In some cases, the fill is free, as long as the requester lets the filler take a hit from the mod in return.
Juice Types
Juices come in two primary types:
Non-nicotine-based juices
Nicotine-based juices, also known as “Nic Salts”
Most teens start with non-nicotine flavored juices. However, nearly all teens we interviewed stated that once they became more experienced, they switched to Nic Salts, which have only been widely available in recent years.
Why the Switch to Nic Salts?
Teens overwhelmingly reported that Nic Salts provide a quick and satisfying “heady”—a lightheaded, buzzy feeling caused by inhaling concentrated nicotine. According to them, the buzz can last one to two minutes. The stronger the Nic Salt, the stronger the heady.
This is reminiscent of when, in the 1990s, some middle schoolers used “Rush” (isobutyl nitrate) from head shops for a similar effect.
Some students reported seeing peers “nic out” or become “nic sick”—nausea, blackouts, or vomiting—from inhaling too much Nic Salt in school bathrooms. As with most addictive substances, the more you use, the more your body needs to get the same buzz.
What starts as a recreational experience often becomes a rapid descent into nicotine addiction.
The Nic Salt Arms Race
A Stanford University study found that one pod of Nic Salt juice can contain more nicotine than an entire pack of cigarettes.
No doubt, JUUL helped ignite the Nic Salt vaping trend—particularly in the U.S., where it remains more popular than in Canada. Today, nearly all vape juice and pod manufacturers produce high-concentration Nic Salt products.
Given the cost of a Nic Salt addiction, some teens reported turning to cigarettes as a cheaper source of nicotine. This is particularly concerning because:
Nic Salt juices mask the bitter taste of nicotine, making them more palatable to new users.
Manufacturers have leveraged flavoring to increase nicotine concentration, further driving dependency.
Vaping is now, for some youth, the gateway to nicotine addiction. Many teens who would never have smoked cigarettes have turned to vaping under the belief that it is safer—which, technically, it is (source)—but they don’t realize it can accelerate nicotine addiction faster than traditional smoking.
UPDATE: July 2021 (Canada)
As of July 2021, Nicotine Concentration in Vaping Products Regulations established a maximum legal concentration of 20 mg/mL for all vaping products manufactured in or imported into Canada. This means that legally sold vaping substances must contain between 0 to 20 mg/mL of nicotine.
Flavoured Vaping Liquid Restrictions
Among Canada’s 13 provinces and territories, six jurisdictions have passed laws or regulations that ban the sale of any e-cigarette liquid except for tobacco flavor. These include:
Nova Scotia
Prince Edward Island
New Brunswick
Quebec
Northwest Territories
Nunavut (law passed, implementation date pending)
Additionally, three provinces have restricted the sale of flavoured vaping liquids to specialty vape shops where minors are not permitted. These are:
British Columbia
Ontario
Saskatchewan
Despite these restrictions, teens report that flavoured juices are still widely accessible via the black market. For example, a vape trafficking ring in Saanich, British Columbia, was caught selling vape products to students in schools, using social media platforms like Snapchat as a sales conduit.Source
Helpful Resource
Here’s a great video that breaks down the mechanics of vaping, ideal for parents and educators looking to understand the hardware teens are using.
HOW ARE TEENS GETTING VAPES AND JUICES?
Here in British Columbia, under the Tobacco and Vapour Products Control Act (source), individuals must be at least 19 years old to legally purchase vaping devices or e-liquids.
So, how are underage teens getting access to these products? We asked them directly. Here's what they told us:
1. Bootlegging
Many teens said they rely on someone they know who is 19 or older to “boot” for them—meaning to purchase vape products on their behalf.
Often, the older friend doesn’t charge money but asks for a “hit” off the vape as payment.
If a friend isn’t available, some teens reported standing near vape shops and asking random adults to purchase for them, typically for a $10 fee added to the cost of the product.
2. Vape Stores/Retailers
Surprisingly, several teens said some vape retailers don’t ask for ID at all.
Teens walk in, buy what they want, and leave—no questions asked.
Some vendors reportedly travel to schools, malls, or other teen-dense locations to illegally sell vaping products.
Sales are often arranged through social media platforms like Snapchat.
Again, Saanich, BC police recently busted a local ring that was doing just this:Source
3. Parents and Older Siblings
Many teens reported that parents or older siblings buy vape products for them.
Some parents felt that vaping was a safer alternative to smoking or drug use, and were unaware of the strength or risks of products—especially Nic Salts.
4. Online Vendors
Several students said they purchase vapes and juices online due to a lack of effective age verification.
Teens track shipments and intercept packages before parents see them.
Some ship products to a friend’s house where vaping is allowed.
Others use post office pickups to avoid detection.
For payment, teens use pre-loaded Visa debit cards. They also reported that:
Many vendors disguise packages to appear benign.
Two websites frequently mentioned were:
5. Social Media Resale
Vapes are also bought and sold on platforms like Snapchat and Instagram.
Transactions are typically one-offs, not bulk deals.
Teens sell old vapes to upgrade to newer ones.
Some adults have claimed teens buy in bulk from overseas (e.g., China) and resell for profit, but teens we spoke with laughed at this, saying it was rare.
Could some teens be making money from vape resales? Sure. But based on our interviews, it's not widespread.
When Are Teens First Experimenting with Vaping?
When we asked, “What grade are teens starting to experiment with vaping?” most of the teens we interviewed said between Grades 7 and 9.
Why?
The most common reasons were peer pressure and a desire to fit in.
Many teens believed vaping was safer than cigarettes, alcohol, or drugs.
One high school student put it this way:
“Vaping has become a social event. It’s like my dad who goes out to have a beer with his buddies.”
Is Vaping Really an Epidemic Among Teens?
We wanted to find out what percentage of teens were actually vaping, so we asked our followers on Instagram:
“How many of you are vaping?”
714 teens responded:
639 (≈88%) said NO
75 (≈12%) said YES
While not a scientific study, this anecdotal result was echoed in our interviews, where most students estimated 10%–30% of their peers vape.
This aligns with data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) which reported similar rates in their 2018 youth vaping survey:Source
Many teens also said they had tried vaping once, didn’t like it, and never did it again.
Who Is Vaping—Boys or Girls?
All of the students we spoke with said that just as many girls as boys are vaping.
Boys tend to prefer Box Mods
Girls are more likely to use Pod Mods, which are smaller and easier to hide
What About School Policies on Vaping?
Most students told us their schools prohibit vaping on school property, which aligns with British Columbia’s Tobacco and Vapour Products Control Act. It is illegal to vape on school grounds.
However, enforcement varies:
Principals often take action, including calling parents or suspending students.
Some teachers, however, reportedly “look the other way” or simply say, “Put that thing away,” without reporting it.
To avoid detection, students commonly vape:
In school bathrooms, behind closed doors
Just off school property, where school authority doesn’t apply—a place they call the “vape pit”
Parenting Tip
Given the growing concern around teen vaping, some companies are now designing vape products to be deliberately discreet, making it difficult for parents and educators to identify them. This includes vape devices that look like:
USB drives
Pens
Smartwatches
Portable gaming devices
We highly recommend watching this YouTube video that clearly demonstrates how vaping paraphernalia is being disguised to fly under the radar of adults.
Being aware of these deceptive designs is the first step in effectively spotting vaping behaviour.
Some Final Thoughts
As we mentioned at the beginning of this article, knowledge—along with the understanding and application of that knowledge—is power.
We hope the insights shared in this article help readers gain a clearer, evidence-informed understanding of teen vaping culture as it currently stands in 2025. Who knows what the next evolution will bring?
Is Vaping a Problem? Yes. An Epidemic? Not Yet.
Based on our Instagram survey and 20+ hours of one-on-one interviews, we believe that vaping has reached a problematic level, especially regarding Nic Salt products, but we stop short of calling it an epidemic—yet.
What’s most concerning is how the vape industry (now heavily influenced by Big Tobacco) appears to be treating this generation of teens like guinea pigs, just as the cigarette industry once did decades ago.
Let’s not forget: we were once told that cigarettes were healthy.
What Teens Want Adults to Know
When we asked teens what parents and teachers could do better, the response was unanimous:
“Be better educated about vaping. Share facts, not just fear.”
To that end, here are three highly respected, evidence-based resources that provide credible medical and scientific insights on vaping:
UPDATE: November 2024
“If the acute consumption of an e-cigarette can have an effect that is immediately manifested at the level of the vessels, it is conceivable that the chronic use can cause vascular disease.”NY Post Article
Some e-liquids contain chemicals such as Vitamin E and Diacetyl, which have been linked to a serious medical condition known as “Popcorn Lung.” Wiley Medical Journal
“Exposure to the vapour increased cell death and the production of inflammatory chemicals. And the ability of cells to engulf bacteria was significantly impaired…”BMJ Thorax StudyNY Post Article
Words from Teens Who Regret It
Many older teens who had been vaping for years told us:
“I wish I had never started, especially with Nic Salts.”
They encouraged us to start educating kids before they hit Grade 7—a sentiment echoed by one Grade 12 student who candidly shared:
“Every generation has something like this. And frankly, some teens are never going to be smart enough to stay away from these things.”
While blunt, their honesty reflects the reality we once faced with cigarettes. But this time, we have a chance to do better.
What Can We Do?
Educate. Educate. Educate.
Education that is:
Truthful
Respectful
Evidence-based
Teen-inclusive
Just like we have “the talk” about sex, pornography, alcohol, and drugs—we now need to have “the vape talk.”
A Final Expert Word
“Vaping is better than smoking, but worse than not vaping. Unfortunately, vaping is marketed at kids/youth who were already declining smoking—nonsmokers. Meaning for that group, it's harm addition. A large percentage of youth who vape have never smoked. Again, harm addition.”— Dr. Tyler Black
Where Prevention Is Failing
Teens told us that many school-based vaping education programs are falling short. Why?
The content is often outdated and doesn’t reflect the latest devices or trends.
Teens said this reduces credibility and makes them tune out.
They also expressed a clear preference for peer-to-peer education:
“We’d rather hear from other teens who have lived it. It’s way more relatable than someone coming in with a slideshow.”
The Future of Prevention: Teen-to-Teen Education
Teens are asking for:
Accurate
Evidence-based
Real-life grounded
Peer-delivered education
This highlights the need for dynamic, adaptive approaches to vaping education that reflect the ever-evolving landscape.
UPDATE: February 2024
Parents, caregivers, and educators should be aware that some teens who want to quit vaping are turning to nicotine pouches as an alternative.
Here’s an article we wrote on that topic
In Gratitude
Thank you to all the teens who took our survey and participated in interviews. Your honesty, insight, and trust helped shape this article in ways we couldn’t have imagined.
You’ve made a difference—and hopefully, this article will help others better understand and respond to the changing culture of teen vaping.
Note: Some of the images in this article were sourced from Vaping360 on Flickr
