The effects of vaping on the future of South Africa's youth

SOUTH Africa’s youth are no longer fighting the battles of 1976.

- TEBOGO MOKGADI

The streets are no longer filled with students confronting an oppressive regime. The struggle has changed shape. Yet, nearly 50 years after the Soweto Uprising, young South Africans still find themselves fighting forces determined to rob them of their future.

Only this time, the enemy does not arrive in armoured vehicles.

It comes disguised as strawberry ice, bubblegum, and mango blast.

In 2019, pulmonologist Dr Richard van Zyl-Smit sounded the alarm on the growing popularity of e-cigarettes. At the time, vaping was being marketed as the “safer alternative” to smoking. Behind the glossy packaging and fruity flavours, however, was an industry aggressively positioning itself to capture a new generation of consumers.

Years later, the warnings appear increasingly justified.

Recent research led by Van Zyl-Smit examined vaping among more than 26 000 learners in Grades 8 to 12 across over 50 fee-paying schools. The findings revealed a troubling picture: children as young as 11 years old are already showing signs of nicotine dependence.

For many learners, vaping is no longer a recreational activity. It has become a coping mechanism.

Stress, anxiety, depression, peer pressure and social acceptance continue to drive usage among adolescents. Yet few young users fully understand what enters their bodies every time they inhale.