I set up a poll on our Twitter Page (@Ecigclick) – to see how many of our followers either Smoked or Vaped when they were under 18.
The results did actually represent what I expected!
Results
The question “How old were you when you first tried a Cigarette (tobacco combustible)” had two answer options…
- Under 18
- Over 18
And guess what – the majority of responses (82.8%) showed that our followers tried smoking before they were 18.
How old were you when you first tried a cigarette (tobacco combustible)? #THR #Vape #Vaping #Smoking #Ecigclick
— EcigClick (@EcigClick) May 1, 2023
Now moving onto the Vaping question “How old were you when you first tried a vape?” had the same options…
- Under 18
- Over 18
And the majority (90.9%) were over 18 when they first tried a vape.
How old were you when you first tried a vape? #Vaping #THR #Vape #Ecigclick
— EcigClick (@EcigClick) May 1, 2023
Conclusion
I know this is a very small sample – and there of course is the fact that vapes were not a thing when some were under 18 – but it does tell me something.
Underage Smoking is nothing new. I was 13 when I started and I was a late starter in my group of friends. I used to visit the small shop up the road to buy Cigarettes for my late Mom and this was the late 1980’s / early 1990’s so not a century ago!
Therefore there will be people under 18 experimenting with vapes, it sadly goes with the territory of being a teenager.
This doesn’t stop the fact that all sales need strict regulation and any under the counter / Black Market operations not obeying regulations need to be stamped out.
Plus in general it is more difficult to obtain Tobacco / Alcohol / Vapes when underage nowadays. I know in the 1980’s it was easy to buy Cigarettes, but Alcohol was hit and miss!
We used to send the oldest looking person in our group to buy Alcohol but most of us had no issues buying Ciggies.
The irony is that in my 30’s (2000’s) I was regularly asked for ID when purchasing age regulated items – so it does prove that it has got tougher.
