Growing number of teenagers are vaping, believe it is ‘fashionable’: UAE experts

Growing number of teenagers are vaping, believe it is ‘fashionable’: UAE experts

A growing number of teenagers across the United Arab Emirates and wider GCC are being attracted to vaping products as a “fashionable and attractive” alternative to cigarettes, experts have said.

Doctors in the UAE are warning that the flavored options are enticing many adolescents to try the battery-operated e-cigarettes, with many falsely believing vaping is a safe alternative to traditional nicotine products.

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However, they warn that vapes – which have cartridges filled with a liquid that usually contains nicotine, flavoring and chemicals - are still harmful products for a user of any age.

Vaping was legalized in the UAE in 2019 and in Saudi Arabia in 2020.

Dr. Abdalkarim Nassar, a specialist pulmonologist at Burjeel Specialty Hospital in Sharjah, told Al Arabiya English that there is no safe way to smoke.

“E-cigarettes produce an aerosol by heating a liquid that usually contains nicotine, flavorings, and other toxic chemicals that are harmful to both users and non-users who are exposed to the aerosols second-hand,” he warned. “Some products claiming to be nicotine-free have been found to contain nicotine.”

“Many pieces of evidence have revealed that these products are harmful to health and are