Students like me would have heard a line similar to this, “Vaping is not a game, it’s a one-way ticket to a life you don’t want”, at their morning assemblies.

Yet, despite all the warnings we have been receiving, the allure of vaping seems to be hard to resist for many students. The number of students referred to the Health Sciences Authority for vaping offences in 2022 rose to 800 from the fewer than 50 in 2018 and 2019 combined (Vaping among youth in Singapore: The real damage it is doing to their bodies, April 15).

Looking at the sleek designs of the kits and the wide variety of flavours, and references to a “safer” alternative to smoking, it is easy to see why so many of us have been tempted despite the ban on vaping.

A better understanding of vaping’s social and psychological appeal is needed for more effective, targeted counter-messaging. 

Isaac Poh Yu Hung, 15
Secondary 4