The tobacco industry needs to replace older smokers.
Like cigarette companies, vape companies have focused their efforts on young people. Why? Getting a person to start as a teen can make a lifetime customer. It’s well known among health professionals and the tobacco industry alike that adolescence is the peak period to
develop addiction.
Most adult smokers started smoking during adolescence, with 90% of adult smokers starting before the age of 18. Nearly all people with nicotine addiction begin smoking before age 21.
During the teen and young adult years, the brain is undergoing significant changes. Teen brains are becoming more efficient and developing critical thinking skills. Exposure to any addictive product,
including nicotine or marijuana, at an early age makes the brain more susceptible to the continued use of the product and addiction.
By planting the seeds for nicotine addiction as early as possible, the tobacco industry has a tremendous incentive to bring its decades of experience and insights into how best to hook young people on nicotine and hide the harms associated with the nicotine product.
