In the school corridors and behind the doors of the college hostel, a new health crisis is gradually taking shape. It does not take the smell of cigarette smoke, nor does it leave the ashes behind. But what leaves is very bad. As young as young as young as youth addiction, lung damage and initial signs of mental health disruptions.

Vapping is not just a Western trend in India that has made its way here. This is a growing public health emergency. And while the government banned the e-cigarette through the prohibition of the Electronic Cigarette Act in 2019, followed by a different challenge: irregular access, poor enforcement, and widespread ignorance about its actual risks.

Young users, mostly unaware of internal tolls, believe that vepping is harmless, but doctors now say otherwise. Unfortunately, the data returns them.

Warning signals are here

In 2023, news reports found that 96% of Indian school students in the age group of 14-17 did not know that VAPES and similar electronic equipment had been banned in India. According to a study, another 89% are unaware of their harmful effects. Another survey showed that 8.6% of school children between 13–15 years had already used e-cigarettes. In urban areas such as Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore, experts suggest that the number may be very high.

There is growing evidence of teenagers who have experienced vepping-related symptoms long ago in their lives. These included persistent cough, shortness of breath, early symptoms of high blood pressure, and even mild heart obstructions in children at the age of ten.

Lungs: swelling and conflict

Vepping may look cleaner than smoking, but inside the body, it is anything but. In 2024, a study documented in the Lancet Respiratory Medicine found that the teenagers who had vapine significantly reduced their lung capacity. Some also showed symptoms of bronchial inflammation and scarring. These changes were usually seen in chain smokers.

Doctors at Jaslok Hospital in Mumbai reported an increase in adolescent patients (about 40%) such as wheezing, chronic dry cough, and even they call “popcorn lungs” – a health status that is associated with contact with diastyle, a chemical found in many flavored liquid fluids.

Heart: very soon under pressure

Unlike cigarettes, VAPE devices use nicotine salts, which provide a faster dose in the bloodstream, which leads to a sharp increase in heart rate, blood pressure, and overall vascular tension.

A ICMR-supported study discovered initial warning indications of arterial stiffness and CRP levels (a protein that indicates inflammation). These are usually markers associated with heart disease in adults. Cardiologist Dr. of Delhi Ranjan Mathur says, “Now we see 17 -year -old children with symptoms that we once saw only the middle -aged smokers.” “And many of them have never touched cigarettes – just vapor.”

Brain: Still growing, is easily bent

The teenage brain is still under construction, especially prefrontal cortex, which handles decision making, impulsive control and emotional regulation. Vepping is known to disrupt the process that overstimizes dopamine, bends the brain. A study by Nimhans revealed a deep link between regular vapping and teenage anxiety, adhd and even increasing cases of low emotional control.

In Thane, a child psychiatrist Dr. Meera Kumari says, “The mental health effect of Veps is real, and it is growing.” “We are not only working in any way with addiction. We are working with emotional instability, educational fall and long -term behavioral changes.”

Policy interval open

Despite the nationwide ban on e-cigarettes, reality on the ground tells a different story. In his 2024 investigation, an NGO opposed more than 300 Instagram and telegram vendors as “defuser” or “wellness inhalers”, which openly promoted VAPE equipment.

It is true that Metro schools are struggling to maintain. Vapes are devices that are small and odorless. They look like a USB drive, which detect almost impossible without active monitoring.

Doctors have advised the parents to have initial, open interactions instead of disciplinary action against their wards. A pulmonologist Dr. in Noida. Puneet recommends Setty, “Look out for signs such as fruity’s smell, dried throat, anxiety and mood or concentration change.”

He also suggests that parents involve schools in awareness-building rather than punitive punishment. “Parents should push for more serious regulation of online VAPE sales, including online impressive marketing. Our youth have better than lungs, heart and brain vapor and refusal,” Dr. Sethi believes.

It is not a harmless experiment or another harmless phase. This is a disguised health problem in modern packaging. While policies can always improve, the correct solution lies in informed awareness in both home and schools.