A learning system can learn a craving.
Nicotine affects signalling throughout the brain. It can create dependence while development is still underway.
Simplified mechanism across brain circuits. Receptors and dopamine are shown symbolically, not to scale or as one literal cell-to-cell pathway.
From lungs to brain.
When you inhale nicotine in vape aerosol, it passes through your lungs into your blood and reaches your brain. The amount delivered varies with the product and how it is used.
“It helps me feel normal.” Here’s one reason why.
Explore a possible cycle in someone who has become dependent. It is not a prediction about everyone who vapes.
A place, a feeling, or a group of friends can become linked with nicotine use. Learned cues can bring on cravings by themselves, even when withdrawal isn't the trigger.
How do we know? What is still uncertain?
Experiments show mechanisms.
In a rat study, adolescent nicotine exposure changed how prefrontal connections strengthened, with effects still measured weeks later. This was nicotine injection in rats, not human vaping.
Human studies show real-world associations.
An online survey of 432 Australian 11- to 18-year-olds (88 who vaped) linked vaping with more mind-wandering, lower confidence about schoolwork, and more depression, anxiety and stress. A survey at one point in time cannot establish whether vaping caused those differences.
What we cannot calculate: an individual teen’s lasting brain effects, a “damage percentage” for each age, or the effects of a particular number of puffs. Long-term human research is still developing. These uncertainties do not make nicotine risk-free.
Does “nicotine-free” make a vape harmless?
The nicotine mechanism in this chapter applies to nicotine-containing products. Removing nicotine does not remove all vaping risks: aerosol can still contain harmful chemicals and metal contaminants.
Quiz: what do you really know about vaping?
13 questions. You'll see the answer and why after each one. Your answers are saved anonymously: no name, no email, no IP address.
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Quiz evidence checked 2 November 2026.