This article describes the development and protocol of a school-based intervention targeting vaping and smoking prevention among fifth-grade students in Germany. Recognizing the rapid rise of e-cigarette use among adolescents and the scarcity of rigorously evaluated prevention programs, researchers employed Intervention Mapping methodology to create an accessible program suitable for diverse school settings, including lower-socioeconomic communities. The development process incorporated qualitative interviews with 62 students and 54 experts, followed by feasibility testing in 13 classrooms. The resulting three-session intervention, delivered by trained facilitators, emphasizes resistance skills, social norms, stress management, and e-cigarette-specific content. Preliminary data demonstrated high acceptability and feasibility, establishing a foundation for the cluster-randomized controlled trial evaluating the program's effectiveness.

The Global Alliance for Tobacco Control critically examines the tobacco industry's "harm reduction" narrative surrounding alternative nicotine products such as e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products, and nicotine pouches. While declining smoking rates have prompted industry diversification, evidence suggests these alternatives are expanding rather than replacing cigarette consumption, creating dual-use patterns and targeting new consumer segments, particularly youth. The industry's repositioning as a public health solution masks its primary objective of sustaining nicotine addiction and market dominance. The article advocates leveraging WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control guidelines to counter deceptive marketing practices and protect vulnerable populations from industry manipulation disguised as innovation and harm reduction.

The World Health Organization has issued a critical warning regarding the escalating global addiction to nicotine pouches among youth, citing aggressive marketing strategies targeting adolescents and young people. These small sachets, placed between the gum and lip, deliver nicotine through oral absorption and have experienced explosive market growth, with retail sales exceeding 23 billion units in 2024—a 50% increase from the previous year. The global market reached nearly $7 billion in 2025. The WHO emphasizes that inadequate regulation across many countries poses significant health risks, as nicotine is highly addictive and particularly harmful to developing brains. Early exposure can impair cognitive function and increase vulnerability to long-term dependency. The organization has released its first comprehensive global report on nicotine pouches, urging governments to implement evidence-based safeguards to protect youth from these emerging nicotine products.

Electronic cigarettes have gained considerable popularity among youth, raising concerns about neurodevelopmental consequences when used during pregnancy. Although widely perceived as safer than conventional cigarettes, research demonstrates that e-cigarette aerosol contains neurotoxic components beyond nicotine that adversely affect the developing brain. This comprehensive review examines evidence showing that e-cigarette exposure disrupts critical physiological processes during early brain development, including blood-brain-barrier integrity, neuroinflammation, oxidative stress imbalance, and gene expression regulation. Animal studies indicate these disruptions lead to cognitive deficits and behavioral changes associated with neuropsychiatric disorders. Cohort studies link prenatal exposure to preterm birth and neonatal complications, though findings on birth weight remain inconsistent. Available evidence strongly suggests e-cigarette exposure poses significant risks to fetal and early brain development, warranting further investigation in longitudinal studies involving school-aged children and adolescents.

India banned e-cigarettes, including heated tobacco products, in 2019. With more than 100 billion cigarettes sold annually, it is the seventh-largest cigarette market by volume, where tobacco kills more than a million people a year. The world's most valuable tobacco firm, Philip Morris, had hoped India could be a key market for its heated tobacco device, IQOS, which the company says is less harmful to health than smoking. 

Belgium and the World Health Organization have established a new Country Cooperation Strategy for 2026–2030, strengthening their collaborative partnership to address critical public health challenges. The agreement, signed on May 8, 2026, reflects Belgium's commitment to evidence-based policymaking and multilateral health cooperation. The five-year framework prioritizes prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases, with particular emphasis on combating youth nicotine addiction and tobacco use. Additional strategic priorities include promoting mental health among youth in relation to digital media, addressing climate change impacts on health, and enhancing health system preparedness. The strategy aims to make health services more accessible, equitable, and resilient across Belgium while advancing preventive measures and strengthening national health systems to improve overall population health outcomes.

# Summary Vaping and e-cigarette use pose significant health risks despite being marketed as safer alternatives to traditional smoking. Research demonstrates that e-cigarettes deliver nicotine and harmful chemicals into the respiratory system, potentially causing lung inflammation, reduced immune function, and respiratory complications. Long-term exposure may increase vulnerability to infections and exacerbate existing respiratory conditions. Additionally, nicotine's addictive properties present particular concerns for adolescent users, as it can impair brain development and cognitive function. Emerging evidence also suggests cardiovascular risks, including elevated heart rate and blood pressure. While perceived as lower-risk than combustible cigarettes, vaping is not risk-free and warrants public health attention.

The vaping industry faces unprecedented regulatory scrutiny in 2026, with governments worldwide implementing stricter oversight across key markets. The European Union's revised Tobacco Products Directive, delayed to mid-2026, will introduce harmonized duties and ingredient restrictions, while the Battery Regulation will eliminate disposable vapes with non-replaceable batteries from February 2027. The United Kingdom has already seen significant market contraction following its disposable ban, with sales declining substantially. Meanwhile, the United States continues expanding state-level product registries and compliance requirements. For manufacturers, distributors, and retailers, navigating these evolving regulations is essential for market survival. Organizations must actively monitor jurisdictional changes and adapt their operations accordingly to maintain compliance and competitive viability.

Tobacco companies strategically target youth through flashy advertising and flavored vaping products, with over 1.6 million U.S. middle and high schoolers currently using e-cigarettes. While nicotine is marketed as stress relief, it actually creates addiction cycles that worsen anxiety and depression. To comprehensively address this public health crisis, understanding young people's lived experiences is essential. The National Council for Mental Wellbeing partnered with the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids to host a Youth Against Vaping writing contest, giving teenagers aged thirteen to twenty-two a platform to share their personal narratives about vaping's impact on their mental health and peer communities. These youth voices illuminate the urgency of combating manipulative marketing tactics and underscore the critical importance of youth-led advocacy in tobacco control efforts.

This study examines the relationship between social media exposure, school-based tobacco prevention programs, and adolescent vaping behaviors using structural equation modeling analysis of Florida Youth Tobacco Survey data. Despite a slight decline in e-cigarette use among middle and high school students, vaping remains the most popular tobacco product among adolescents, with concerning prevalence rates in 2024. The research investigates how social media influences youth vaping adoption and evaluates the effectiveness of school prevention interventions in mitigating this exposure. Understanding these interconnected factors is critical for developing comprehensive public health strategies to combat adolescent nicotine addiction and ENDS use.

Local parades are the “shops down the road”, the places at the end of their street or around the corner where they buy milk, send parcels, visit the chemist, drop the kids off at nursery, or meet friends for a catch up. They are far smaller in scale than large town and city centre high streets, yet they still serve a very active role in people’s day to day lives. The report, published today (Feb 9), states that deprived neighbourhood parades, in comparison to affluent parades, average: • around 25 per cent less social infrastructure amenities, such as pubs, café’s and coffee shops, gyms, leisure centres and social clubs, as well as local health, digital, and educational services, and 70 per cent more over saturated retail premises, which include off licenses, takeaways, betting shops, and vape shops.

Vaping uses an electronic device to heat a liquid into an inhalable aerosol. Devices vary a lot. E-liquids differ by flavor and nicotine level. Communities form around shops, online forums, and events. Regulators set rules on sales, packaging, and ingredients. Research examines short term effects and long term outcomes.

The move is included in the tobacco and vapes bill, which will also outlaw smoking, vaping and using heated tobacco in playgrounds and outside schools and hospitals. Smoking in cars containing children and young people up to the age of 18 has been illegal in England since 2015. The new legislation will extend that prohibition to the use of vapes and heated tobacco.“No child in a playground or hospital patient should suffer because someone else chooses to smoke,” said Wes Streeting, the health secretary. “Secondhand smoke increases the risk of heart disease and lung cancer and we want to protect children and the sick from harm.”

A US teenager was recently reported to have developed the oddly named medical condition “popcorn lung” after vaping in secret for three years. Officially known as bronchiolitis obliterans, popcorn lung is a rare but serious and irreversible disease that damages the tiny airways in the lungs, leading to persistent coughing, wheezing, fatigue and breathlessness. The term “popcorn lung” dates back to the early 2000s when several workers at a microwave popcorn factory developed lung problems after inhaling a chemical called diacetyl – the same ingredient used to give popcorn its rich, buttery taste.

With vaping now more common than smoking, experts explain addiction and what actually helps people quit

Under Decree No. 371, which takes effect on Dec. 31, individuals who allow the use of e-cigarettes or heated tobacco products at premises under their ownership or management will be fined between VND5 million and VND10 million. For organizations, the fines will be doubled.The decree defines e-cigarettes as products consisting of an electronic device, a container holding e-cigarette liquid, and the liquid itself. Heated tobacco products are defined as those comprising an electronic device and specially processed tobacco.

The efficacy of advertising can be observed in its ability to shape perceptions and influence behaviors, leading to an uptick in e-cigarette usage among both young adults and teenagers. Prominent advertisements often glorify vaping as a trendy lifestyle choice, portraying it as a safer alternative to traditional smoking. This imagery has a powerful effect on the youth, shaping their beliefs and attitudes towards nicotine consumption. The strategic placement of these ads on social media platforms, websites frequented by younger populations, and even video games has further facilitated this process. As exposure increases, so does curiosity and, gradually, the normalization of e-cigarette use.

La plupart des fumeurs arrêtent de fumer sans aide. Pour d’autres, participer au Mois sans tabac peut être une motivation supplémentaire, sachant aussi qu’arrêter de fumer pendant 30 jours multiplie par cinq les chances d’y parvenir définitivement. Quoi qu’il en soit, sachez aussi qu’il y a 70 % de chances supplémentaires de réussir votre sevrage grâce à l’accompagnement d’un professionnel de santé.

Les professionnels du vapotage dénoncent l’article 23 du budget qui prévoyait à l’origine l’interdiction de la vente en ligne, une nouvelle taxation des e-liquides, un monopole de distribution confié aux buralistes, et l’assimilation de la vape au tabac. Le texte a été largement remanié à l’Assemblée nationale puis au Sénat. Mais les professionnels, qui se voient comme une filière utile pour la lutte contre le tabagisme, redoutent un retour de ces mesures en commission mixte paritaire.

Le Baromètre 2024 de Santé publique France dresse un constat sans appel : le vapotage poursuit sa progression chez les adultes français. Dans un communiqué daté du 11 décembre, le Comité national contre le tabagisme (CNCT) interroge sur les véritables bénéfices pour la santé de ces produits et dénonce la politique toujours plus agressive des lobbys de la vape.