Germany: Vaping becoming more popular among young people
A recent study shows that e-cigarettes are becoming increasingly popular among young people in Germany, with even elementary school kids picking up vapes. Health experts
A recent study shows that e-cigarettes are becoming increasingly popular among young people in Germany, with even elementary school kids picking up vapes. Health experts are alarmed. At least Antonia S.* has no desire to continue smoking cigarettes. She started smoking at 18, and six years later switched to vaping. Watermelon flavor is her favorite, and a 10-milliliter bottle of e-liquid, the equivalent to about 60 e-cigarettes, lasts her a week. "I've tried to quit smoking time and time again. It never worked until I tried vaping," the 30-year-old told DW. "I do feel that it's made me healthier. But on the other hand, I think I'm much more dependent on vaping than I was on smoking. Everyone I know says they vape much more than they would smoke." From a consumer perspective, vaping has the advantage that it doesn't smell like normal cigarettes. Antonia also vapes at home; smoking in the apartment was an absolute no-go, but the sweet vapor from blueberry, cola or apple peach from her e-cigarette isn't a problem. Above all, it's possible anytime, anywhere. "You're on it all the time. With cigarettes, you might have said 'I've only got five minutes, that's not enough,' and then you didn't spark up after all. I don't even have to go outside to vape," said Antonia. When would she stop using e-cigarettes? "Right now, I feel like it's doing me more good than harm. But if I got pregnant, I'd stop immediately." Are e-cigarettes really healthier?
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Number of young smokers is rising Health experts in Germany are worried that young people, in particular, are once again turning to e-cigarettes and even to regular cigarettes much more frequently than the generation before them. According to a recent survey, almost 10% of Germany's 12- to 17-year-olds smoked in 2025, compared to only around 6% four years earlier. Almost 7% of this age group regularly use vapes, more than twice as many as in 2021. Hendrik Streeck, the federal government's drug commissioner who commissioned the study, sees a trend reversal. "Tobacco prevention has been successful in Germany for years, but this success no longer seems guaranteed," Streeck said. "Starting with vapes makes young people nicotine-dependent and often leads them to also smoke cigarettes in the long term. Nicotine itself is not harmless. Neither are the additives in vapes." The Federal Institute for Risk Assessment has identified 13 additives that are harmful to health and, in some cases, carcinogenic: "Tobacco and nicotine are highly addictive products. We shouldn't downplay that. In Germany, 360 people die every day as a result of consuming them," said Streeck. Germany's drug commissioner, Hendrik Streeck, wants to ban vape flavors that appeal to young people Image: Michael Kappeler/dpa/picture alliance Tobacco industry: 'E-cigarettes less harmful' Streeck is calling for a ban on flavors that appeal to young people, a higher tobacco tax with the additional revenue flowing directly into the health system, and stricter age controls.
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