Vaping – Youth perceptions and attitudes: evidence briefing

Policy implications

The Scottish Government’s position is that vaping products should never be used by children, young people and non-smokers. Given upward trends in youth vaping prevalence, the health harms caused by vaping in non-smokers and the risk that vaping may act as a gateway to smoking, we have reviewed existing research on young people’s perceptions and attitudes to inform our policy approach.

Perceptions of and attitudes towards vaping products have varied over time and will likely vary in the future. We will continue to review emerging evidence to address issues around vaping attractiveness and social norms in line with our wider public health ambition outlined in the Tobacco and Vaping Framework.