Alex's Answer

Hi, and welcome to Ask Alex.

We would like to thank you for bringing your question to us. You want to know if, at 14 years of age, you should quit vaping. 

The short answer to this question would be yes. We are continually learning about e-cigarettes and have not got a huge amount of information on them, but studies do show that the nicotine they contain can harm adolescent brain development and result in other difficulties too. Nicotine, which is an addictive chemical, often makes people reliant on it which in turn makes you reliant on the vaping and the longer you smoke it the more difficult it can be to give it up.  

We understand that quitting can be made even more difficult if all your friends are vaping. Keep in mind that you are doing this for yourself and for the good of your health, and you can only make choices for yourself and not others. If you have loyal friends who genuinely care about your wellbeing, they will understand, accept and support your decision. Stopping the vaping now before it gets too difficult would be a good option for you, and it appears to be something you are thinking about doing as you have put forward the question to us here at Ask Alex.  

It is also important to have a trusted adult in your life to speak with about this as you may need support around quitting vaping. This can be a family member or even a teacher, GP, coach etc – someone you feel will support and help you.  

If you are not yet ready to approach an adult in your life right now, then you could contact Childline through our web chat on www.childline.ie, by sending a text to 50101, or by calling us on  1800 66 66 66. Childline is here for you anytime and we are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is a free and confidential service. We are non-judgemental, and we will not tell you what to do instead we can help you explore what options may be available to you.     

Again, we would like to thank you for your question and tell you that Alex is here if you have any other questions or things on your mind that you’d like to discuss.  

Look after yourself.  

Alex.