Want To Deter Teen Vaping? Make Devices Boring, Study Says

Key TakeawaysBoring vape devices are less appealing to young peopleTeens and young adults were less likely to want to try white vapes compared to colorful devicesHowever, this could deter smokers from switching to vaping, researchers warn.THURSDAY, May 22, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Making vape devices boring could help deter teens and young adults from picking up the e-cigarette habit, a new study says.Vape devices currently come in colorful packaging and all sorts of fun designs, intended to enhance their appeal, researchers said.Offering a standardized white disposable vape made the devices less appealing, compared to colorful options, according to findings published May 20 in the journal Tobacco Control.“For countries interested in discouraging vaping among young people, standardizing the color of vaping devices could be considered alongside standardized packaging as a potential policy option,” concluded the research team led by Harry Tattan-Birch, a senior research fellow at University College London in the U.K.The rise of vaping has coincided with the introduction of disposable devices, and these devices come in many attractive colors and interesting designs, researchers said in background notes.There’s little regulation over the design of vaping devices, they pointed out, a stark contrast to other more heavily regulated tobacco products.To see whether the devices’ design makes a difference, researchers surveyed nearly 15,300 young people 16 to 29 living in England, Canada or the U.S.The participants were randomly shown images of either four branded disposable vapes or four standardized white vape devices, and then asked which they would be interested in trying.More than 67% of those shown the white vapes said they had no interest in trying any of the devices, compared with just under 63% of those shown fancy blue, gold or shaded pink vapes, results show.However, the greatest impact found in the study raises the most red flags concerning this approach to combating vaping, as it was found in young people who’d smoked but not vaped within the past month.Around 48% of current smokers were uninterested in trying the white vapes, versus about 38% of those shown the colorful branded vapes. “Trade-offs must be considered, as while standardization of vape devices likely deters young people who have never smoked from trying them, it may also lead to fewer people switching from smoking to vaping,” researchers wrote.Among those who vaped but didn’t smoke, 20% weren’t interested in trying the white vapes compared with under 17% with the colorful vapes.The smallest effect was found among those who neither smoke nor vape – 93% had no interest in trying the white vapes, compared with 91% of those shown colorful vapes.Similar effects were observed among people who both smoke and vape (14% versus 10%) and among those who formerly smoked or vaped (73% versus 65%).“Our findings suggest that the integration of regulation on device design into new policy further reduces the appeal of vapes to young people,” researchers concluded. “However, compared with people who have never smoked or vaped, the reduction in interest was more pronounced among smokers, who might benefit from using vapes to quit smoking.”They added there is a risk.“The public health benefits of preventing youth uptake of vaping could be offset by a decline in the number of young people transitioning from smoking to exclusive vaping, or an increase in relapse from exclusive vaping to smoking, including dual use,” the study concluded.More informationThe American Lung Association has more on vaping.SOURCE: BMJ, news release, May 20, 2025 .What This Means For YouParents should talk with their teens about vaping and dissuade them from trying it as nicotine is highly addictive. .Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter