Staff Investigates

How the Vaping Industry Targets Youth by Kalin Flynn

As we all know, vaping is a very present and dangerous threat to today's youth and, whether we like it or not, vapes are everywhere. Many parents are wondering why their kids are vaping. We have programs in schools and out to educate them on the health risks involved yet they still continue to vape. The recent statistics will shock you:

  • As of 2018, 9% of U.S. adults said they “regularly or occasionally” vape. (Gallup, 2018)

  • In the U.S., 27.5% of high school students use vape products. (The Truth Initiative, 2019)

  • According to a 2019 survey, more than 5 million U.S. middle and high school students used e-cigarettes in the past 30 days. (U.S Food and Drug Administration, 2019)

  • Nearly 1 million youth e-cigarette users use the product daily, and 1.6 million use it more than 20 times per month. (U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2019)

- Single Care

There are numerous reasons why kids vape but one reason is that vape ads target youth. Vapes come in many different flavors and colors and some of the most popular are:

  • Hawaiian Pog by Naked 100

  • Killer Kustard by Vapetasia

  • Unicorn Frappe by Juice Man

  • Strawberry Crunch by Taylor Desserts

  • Blue Frost by Propaganda The Hype Collection

  • Pennywise by Bad Drip Labs

  • Pink Blues by Puff Labs


- Vape Royalty


All of these flavors are marketed to kids; they are sold in bright colorful packages that kids are drawn to and even worse some vape companies are making their packaging resemble candy! Some look like Sour Patch Kids while others look like a can of whipped cream. And for a child who doesn't know the difference between the two, it can be deadly according to the FDA. I have looked at many ad campaigns for vapes and I saw many consistencies:


  • Bright colors

  • Teen advertising

  • Saying that all the anti-vape commercials are spreading "misinformation"

  • Saying it's better and healthier than smoking


It's concerning for our kids who are at a stage in their life where they're questioning everyone, their parents, teachers, grandparents, etc. And for commercials to add on to that and validate their feelings that everything they've been taught is wrong is very harmful to kids and sadly very effective for the companies who sell vapes.

Now commercials and packaging aren't the only ways vape companies are targeting youth. They also use misinformation. In fact, one of the most popular ads for vaping (which you can find below) outright says that all of the anti-vaping ads that we see are giving kids false information. And another one even uses Santa Claus!

Another chilling way companies are targeting youth is by going straight to the source! According to Drug Watch, "Congressional investigators found Juul Labs 'deployed a sophisticated program' paying schools as much as $10,000 each to let company representatives deliver its message directly to children. In at least one presentation, without teachers or parents present, a company representative showed kids how to use a Juul e-cigarette."

And it gets worse:

"Juul purchased banner ads on child-oriented websites for Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network among other websites designed for child audiences, according to a 2020 Juul lawsuit filed by the Massachusetts attorney general. 'Juul also purchased advertisements on a range of websites designed to help middle school and high school students develop their mathematics and social studies skills,' the complaint read." -Drug Watch

This is despicable, the human brain does not fully develop until 25 including the part of your brain used to make critical decisions (your frontal lobe). So targeting kids at this age is horrible; they are not mentally able to make these types of life-altering decisions contrary to what they want you to believe. These companies are fully aware of what they are doing and how it affects today's youth. They know the dangers of vaping, they know the health risks involved, but they are putting that aside and continuing with their horrible practices in order to make money. Our children are nothing more than dollar signs to them and they won't stop.

By using colorful packages, fun flavors, commercials, and going straight to kids themselves vaping industries are targeting the kids of today, and it needs to stop.