Clear advice, real numbers, and a plan for when saying no feels difficult.
If you already vape, work toward stopping with support.
At 14–18, your brain is still developing. Nicotine is addictive and can harm the systems involved in attention, learning, mood, and impulse control. The scientific advice for teenagers is clear: avoid vaping.
If you have ADHD or ADHD-type symptoms, diagnosed or not, take this warning especially seriously. Research linking more ADHD symptoms with starting vaping gives you another reason to make a plan to avoid it. Vaping is not a safe way to manage ADHD or stress.
These surveys show why frequent use and cravings deserve attention.
Daily use can become part of everyday life. In the same survey, 41.2% of current vapers used e-cigarettes on at least 20 of the last 30 days.
Among US middle and high school students who had vaped in the past 30 days. This is not a percentage of all students.
They described the urges as strong, very strong, or extremely strong. Cravings can make the next “no” harder.
Among current vapers aged 11–17 in the ASH/YouGov survey. Great Britain means England, Scotland, and Wales.
These figures describe use and urges, not the percentage of teens with brain damage. They are not specific to ADHD, and the two surveys are not a direct country-to-country comparison.
US: FDA’s 2025 National Youth Tobacco Survey results, released in 2026. “Current” means use on at least one of the past 30 days. Daily use means all 30 days. The 27.5% daily group is included within the 41.2% frequent-use group; these percentages must not be added. Frequency alone does not diagnose addiction.
Great Britain: ASH/YouGov surveyed 2,746 people aged 11–17 in March–April 2025. The urge question’s current-vaper subgroup contained 231 respondents. The 47% is a weighted estimate based on self-reports, not a clinical diagnosis. A small subgroup adds uncertainty.
That can make saying no feel awkward. You can like your friends and keep this boundary. Choose a situation and try saying the reply out loud.
Your “no” is enough. You do not owe anyone a health debate, a diagnosis, or a long explanation.
Try: “I’m not vaping. Back me up if people start pushing.” An ally can be a friend who vapes but respects your choice. If nobody there supports you, speak to a trusted adult.
Suggest food, a game, a walk, music, or sport. If holding someone’s vape makes it harder to say no, hand it back. Make time for other people who share your interests, too.
Decide where you can go and who you can text for a ride. If pressure turns into threats or bullying, get help from a trusted adult. You do not have to vape to earn a place in a group.
Pick words that sound like you. Your plan updates as you choose.
Practise this once out loud. These choices stay on this page and reset when you reload.