“If they can’t find their vape, it’s everybody’s problem,” said Isadora Sylvia-Ribeiro, a third-year theatre major. 

Between nationwide anti-smoking campaigns and legislation, the side effects and potential risks of vaping — including anxiety, lung disease and cancer — are widely known. Although teenage rates of smoking have hit a 10-year low in 2024, 15.5% of adults aged 21-24 reported e-cigarette usage, the most of any age group. But despite the nationwide downward trend, many Northeastern community members have noticed the prevalence of vaping on campus, even in classroom settings.

“I had a student try to vape during one of my exams a few years ago because they were too stressed out and needed their nicotine fix,” said Chiara Bellini, associate professor and associate chair of graduate studies for bioengineering. 

Bellini’s research focuses on cardiovascular diseases, the effects of cell-mediated growth and remodeling processes on tissue and organ mechanics. In a 2021 study with Jessica Oakes, an associate professor of bioengineering, the two researched the effects of dual usage of traditional cigarettes and modern salt-based e-cigarettes. Using animal models, they investigated how their chronic use affects the heart, lungs and blood vessels. 

After six months of exposing mice to e-cigarettes five days a week, they found their lungs and aorta reshaped, as well as increased difficulty breathing. Oakes emphasized the disparity in cardiopulmonary effects: “It seems like we’re finding different things between cigarettes and e-cigarettes.” Moreover, Oakes said that e-cigarette use among young people is “concerning because their lungs are still developing and particularly susceptible to the e-cigarette aerosols.”

Yet, even as scientists continue to learn more about the health risks, disposable vapes and e-cigarettes still seem to have a hold on young people. 

“I’ve definitely seen people walking [while vaping], and you see someone hitting something in their sleeve,” said Raphael Semeria, a second-year civil engineering and architecture studies combined major. “It’s definitely around, and you see it, or if you just go behind any building, you’ll probably see people smoking.” 

Several students said they noticed a spike in nicotine use during high school, as smoking and vaping became aesthetized and associated with rebelliousness. One student pointed out that high school students can’t go home smelling like cigarettes to their family, making vaping a less conspicuous alternative. But as students transition to college, the perception of vaping, at least in some circles, has become less socially acceptable. 

“I feel like certain people I know are embarrassed when they take out their vape,” Sylvia-Ribeiro said. “At first, I didn’t want to be that lame person who’s like, ‘Hey, you said you were gonna quit vaping; you should stop,’ but now I don’t really care … I’m still going to make it pretty known that I don’t think you should be doing that.” 

But students claim that their decision to vape is based on the habits of those around them. Aashvi Govind, a first-year political science and business administration combined major, said her peers’ decisions likely influenced her own.

“If you have a community around you where vaping is normal and that’s something that you do together, I think it’s harder to break that cycle because that, to you, is normal,” Govind said. “I definitely didn’t grow up with friends that vaped at all, and I think that contributes to why I don’t smoke now.” 

Andres Milne, a third-year business administration major, said he “definitely” noticed more people vaping during his first year at Northeastern.

“I think that everyone’s become a little more health-conscious now, and I would definitely say that a lot less people are vaping in our demographic,” he added. 

Many of Milne’s friends vaped, and eventually, he picked up his own habit. 

“I couldn’t run anymore. I couldn’t breathe, and I couldn’t function. I tried quitting so many times, and when I would quit, it would give me horrible anxiety,” Milne said. “I just felt like I was becoming mentally weak, and I didn’t like what it was.”  

Milne said that once he realized vaping was keeping him from the activities he cared about, he quit cold turkey and switched to Zyns — a popular brand of nicotine pouches — before quitting nicotine completely. 

“It was stimulating; it was great, but I didn’t want to rely on nicotine to get me through the day, and I didn’t want to wake up looking forward to a buzz every day,” Milne said. 

But even though habitual users express a desire to quit, many find themselves stuck. 

“I was talking to a really close friend of mine about it the other day, and she always tells me she’s going to quit in the summer. And I think it’s just funny because it never happens, and it’s a pattern that I’ve noticed throughout all the relationships I’ve had where people are addicted to nicotine,” Govind said. 

Richard Daynard, a distinguished professor of law at Northeastern School of Law and president of the Public Health Advocacy Institute, has dedicated much of his career to tobacco research and holding the tobacco industry legally responsible for the health impacts of their products. 

“Vaping was promoted in the direction of the health authorities, ‘Oh yeah, this is a way to get people to stop smoking,’ but it was very much marketed to kids and teenagers,” Daynard said. “Basically, what they did is they emulated the tobacco industry — they had influencers. They had marketing that was clearly designed for teenagers and it worked, until it didn’t.” 

In 2019, Massachusetts banned all flavored tobacco products, including vapes, cigarettes, e-cigarettes and cigars, becoming the first state to pass such legislation. By 2025, six states have followed suit. The state ban followed a similar initiative in 2009, when the federal government passed the Tobacco Control Act, giving the Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, authority to regulate the manufacturing, distribution, and marketing of tobacco products, and banning flavored cigarettes except menthol. The Supreme Court upheld the FDA’s block of flavored vapes on April 2, writing that it “appeals to nonsmokers, particularly younger Americans.”

Nick, a second-year data science and business administration combined major, who asked for his last name to be anonymous because he is under the legal smoking age, vaped in high school, and still does on occasion, but is a daily cigarette smoker. He said that communities like his bike shop still have strong smoking cultures.

“Of course they taste f— amazing now, like, oh my god,” Nick said about vapes. “Those JUUL pods in high school, especially with all the fruity flavors — it’s a good thing that they banned them.”

Still, bans and regulations on nicotine products from various levels of government haven’t completely curbed their use.

The extent of the damage vaping may cause is not entirely known. But several studies have pointed to bronchiolitis obliterans, or “popcorn lung,” and permanent respiratory damage. However, Kaavya Baliga, a first-year environmental and sustainability sciences and economics combined major, said some young people might not take health risks into consideration. 

“I also think among young people, we’re not really considering long-term ramifications as much, so I don’t see a lot of intentional, ‘I need to quit.’ It’s more just like, ‘Oh, I’m not reliant. I just do it because I want to,” Baliga said. 

But to Milne, while he saw Zyns as a more covert option for his nicotine fix, the health risks were still a concern. 

“Most of these kids are 19 to 21, and it’s like, you can live a great lifestyle,” Milne said. “These are your prime years and you’re wasting them away by sucking on a plastic cancer box. Just don’t.”