Nicotine in their notebooks: The rise of teen vaping in Bengaluru

In Bengaluru, the vape market for school students doesn’t operate in the open. It doesn’t have to. Students aged 16 and 17 have built an access system that’s decentralised, informal, and disturbingly efficient – one that runs through Telegram menus, backroom shop counters, and entire networks of teenagers who know how to ask, whom to ask, and exactly what they’re paying for. 

Vaping involves the inhalation of vapour from an electronic device, commonly called an e-cigarette, which typically contains nicotine – a highly addictive stimulant – flavouring, and other chemicals. These devices heat a liquid (often referred to as e-liquid or vape juice) into an aerosol that users inhale. 

In India, the use of e-cigarettes is strictly prohibited under the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act (PECA), 2019. This law bans the production, manufacture, import, export, transport, sale, distribution, storage, and advertisement of e-cigarettes and similar devices. While the Act does not explicitly mention individual use, the Union Health Ministry has clarified that possession of e-cigarettes in any form, quantity, or manner contravenes the provisions of PECA.​ 

Despite the ban, e-cigarettes remain accessible in various parts of the country. “You can go to any street and one in every three smoke shops will have vapes,” said 17-year-old Kunaal*, a Class 11 student. “But they won’t sell it to just anyone. They’ll act like they don’t even know what it is, until you come with someone they trust.”

That trust is often passed down like a trade secret, from a cousin who already vapes, a senior who has a contact, a friend who knows which shop won’t flinch if you ask for a “Strawberry Ice 10K.” First-timers are told to hang around, make small talk, and not to ask too fast. Sellers watch. They remember faces. “After two or three visits, they might open the drawer,” Kunaal said. “But only if they’ve seen you before.”

Vaping has quietly become prevalent among Bengaluru’s school students, facilitated by informal networks, discreet sales tactics, and peer influence. Through platforms like Telegram and backroom shops, teenagers have normalised access to nicotine devices, which are not only illegal but also medically harmful. What starts as a curiosity over fruity flavours quickly develops into daily dependence, driven by misinformation and a lack of regulation.

Drawing from interviews with 11 students as well as educators and a psychotherapist, this report delves into the vaping culture in Bengaluru’s schools, exploring how students access vapes, the role of peer dynamics, and the psychological factors influencing their choices. 

A pan-India network of vape sellers

The pricing isn’t arbitrary. Most students know that a Rs 2,000 vape in Bengaluru would cost half that in Delhi. And they act on it. “I’ve spoken to people in Coimbatore, Chennai, Delhi just to compare rates,” said Dhruv*, a Class 11 student, also 17. “We take screenshots of menus, tally prices, and then place bulk orders with whoever is cheapest. It’s like a group project.”

Delhi and Meerut, students say, have the lowest prices. Chennai is the port. Bengaluru is the markup city – up to 50% more, depending on the model. Raunak*, a Class 11 student, explained, “A Rs 1,200 vape in Delhi will go for Rs 2,500 here. We ask friends if someone’s placing orders in other cities, and we just add ours and get them couriered.”

This kind of cross-city ordering is common. Raunak, a 16-year-old, has added his order to someone else’s multiple times. “I bought it for myself first and then some of my friends wanted it when they saw it too and so I started supplying to them too,” he said.

Several sellers operate with digital menus listing flavours, puff counts, and price slabs. Rehaan* described one such page after which he shifted to WhatsApp to order his devices. “It looks like a food delivery menu. You just message them, drop your pin, and they bring it to you.” Payments are made in cash or via UPI, whichever leaves the least trace.

The real danger is how quickly the nicotine reaches the brain and starts changing it. Once inhaled, it reaches the brain in about 10 seconds through the lungs’ blood vessels, quickly triggering dopamine release, which is addictive. This rapid delivery is particularly dangerous for adolescents, whose brains are still developing.

Studies from the National Institute on Drug Abuse show that early nicotine exposure alters brain circuits involved in attention, learning, and impulse control, making teenagers more susceptible to long-term addiction and cognitive deficits. Over time, nicotine also increases heart rate, raises blood pressure, and can cause long-term cardiovascular stress.

These physiological effects underscore the importance of addressing vaping not just as a behavioural issue but as a significant health concern, particularly among youth.​

How it begins and why it persists

Zayn*, a Class 11 student in Bengaluru, started vaping in Class 9. In his early days of vaping, he started borrowing his cousin’s vape whenever they met. Within months, he’d saved up enough to buy one of his own – using money meant for snacks and other small expenses.

Zayn does not describe himself as addicted, but when he talks about what happened when he got a vape there’s a quiet pride in his voice. “It gave me a weird kind of status,” he said. “Friends wanted to hang around me more, they treated me like a king just so that they could borrow it during breaks. I liked that. It made me feel important.”

Zayn, now 17, recalls that the first time he tried vaping was at a wedding. “We were talking about how I wanted to try a cigarette,” he said. “But my cousin told me vapes are easier to hide, no smell, and you can do it even when you’re with family.” That night, he tried a flavoured vape – possibly mint or grape. “I didn’t think much of it then, but later my thoughts kept going back to it,” he said.

Others described similar patterns. Kunaal said vapes became common among his juniors during and after the COVID-19 lockdown. “Some of them got caught in Class 8 or 9,” he said. “They would go to the washroom and vape because no one could smell anything. The school tried to cover it up because they didn’t want it to affect their reputation.”

Sid*, who started vaping at the end of Class 8, said his seniors introduced it to him. “They told me it would be sweet and relaxing. I took one puff and started coughing like mad, but later I felt light. It stayed with me,” he said. “After that, a few of us pooled money and got one through a senior. It became a kind of ritual, something we’d do while hanging out.”

What began as curiosity soon became routine. “Especially in school,” he said, “it was way easier to hide than cigarettes. No smoke, no smell.” Over time, it became part of the day, between classes, during breaks, after school. “Some of us even figured out the CCTV blind spots,” he said. “There was always someone keeping watch.”

For some students, vaping wasn’t about rebellion, it was simply a product that made practical sense. “People I know shifted from cigarettes to vapes because they needed an easy way out,” said Dhruv. “Cigarettes are harder to hide and way more expensive over time. Vapes last longer, are cheaper per puff, and don’t smell.”

A vape that delivers up to 25,000 puffs can cost as little as Rs 1,500 in Bengaluru, depending on the source. By contrast, a pack of cigarettes, priced at Rs 180 to Rs 300, might only last a few days. “If you’re smoking daily, it’s just more economical to vape,” Dhruv added. “That’s why even minors are getting into it.”

For several others, the fear of addiction was a later realisation. “It helped me get out of my head... I’ve tried quitting, I’ve gone like four or five days without it. I felt so irritable, like I snapped at my sister for no reason. That’s when I realised it had gotten into me,” said Rhea*, a 17-year-old Class 11 student.

The perception of harmlessness

Across conversations with students, a pattern emerged – almost none of them believed that vaping could seriously harm them, at least when they first started. Unlike cigarettes, vapes carried no heavy smell, no public warnings, no immediate social stigma. Without these signals, most students treated vaping as harmless background noise.

Dhruv said, “I don’t exactly remember, but it was last year around the month of August or so. I was kind of going through some things and my friend sort of gave his vape for me to try, right? It felt good, way better than smoking at least, I mean I have never tried smoking but I don’t really like the smell of cigs. Yeah, so I started to vape then and it sort of gave me the sense of relief I needed.”

Several students associated the sweet flavours and smooth experience with safety. “Most people who smoke start with vapes,” Kunaal said. “But once they’re addicted, they eventually do both (vape and cigarettes).”

The shift from occasional use to dependency happens almost without notice. “I don’t think I’m addicted, but I won’t lie… if I don’t vape for a couple of days I feel weird. Not sick or anything, just restless. Like something’s missing,” Sid said.

For many, the flavours and discreet design of the devices made them seem harmless. “The taste was smooth, it didn’t burn my throat. I think it was vanilla or something similar. It actually felt good,” Raunak said.

Even with growing signs of dependence, many compared vaping to other substances and concluded that it was acceptable. “Compared to cigarettes – which have tar, carbon monoxide, and a lot of other chemicals – vapes are technically safer,” Kunaal said, echoing a common misconception.

But this perceived safety is contradicted by mounting medical evidence in India. A white paper by the Indian Council of Medical Research reveals that e-cigarette vapour contains harmful chemicals like formaldehyde, acrolein, and acetaldehyde. These substances can irritate the airways and are linked to serious lung problems, such as chronic bronchitis, asthma, and lung inflammation.

The report also highlights a worrying trend among young users – combining vaping with regular cigarettes, which makes the health risks even worse. In short, the chemicals in e-cigarettes pose significant long-term harm to the lungs and overall respiratory health.

Emerging research has dismantled the myth of e-cigarettes being a ‘safer’ alternative by pointing to their serious cardiovascular risks. A peer-reviewed study titled Electronic Cigarette Use and the Risk of Cardiovascular Diseases, published in Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine, explains that vaping can raise blood pressure and heart rate, which are key risk factors for heart disease, including strokes and heart attacks. The chemicals in e-cigarette vapour, especially nicotine, cause stress and damage to blood vessels, making them stiffer and less able to carry blood effectively.

Additionally, vaping can increase fat levels in the blood, which can harm blood vessels and lead to a build-up of plaque in the arteries. This makes it harder for the heart to pump blood and can lead to heart problems over time. Nicotine also releases harmful fatty acids into the bloodstream, further increasing the risk of heart disease.

The absence of immediate visible harm strengthened the perception that vaping was a manageable, minor vice. “And here’s the thing, even though it’s banned, like, we all know students still use vapes. It’s obvious,” Kunaal noted.

Over time, what should have been warning signs became normal. Rhea, who began vaping during her mid-term exams in Class 11, said, “I try not to keep it in my bag anymore. Out of sight, out of mind, kind of thing. But it’s hard.”

In the absence of intervention, vaping has slid quietly into students’ daily lives, invisible as a problem even to those living with it. “I don’t think it’s safe. I’m not that naive,” Rhea admitted. “But I also think it’s better than me scratching my skin raw when my anxiety peaks. So right now, it feels like the lesser evil.”

But science tells a different story. A meta-review published in Frontiers in Physiology detailed how e-cigarettes deliver ultrafine particles, heavy metals, and toxicants deep into the lungs, raising concerns about cardiovascular damage and inflammatory lung diseases. The Indian Pediatrics Journal echoed these risks in its 2021 position paper, warning of the growing use of e-cigarettes among Indian adolescents and calling for sustained regulatory action.

Vaping may feel like a safer choice, but emerging research underscores that for adolescents it’s a silent gateway to long-term harm.

Schools turn to counselling and conversations, not punishment

For many school administrators in Bengaluru, the rise of student vaping has been less a sudden outbreak and more a slow leak, ignored until it stains the institution itself. Two educators from two different private institutions, Bornona Sen, School Coordinator and Deepali Dias, Principal, talked to TNM about this prevailing issue. They say the biggest hurdle isn’t just access or discipline. It’s ignorance, among students, teachers, and even parents.

“We’ve caught students with vapes as expensive as Rs 1,800,” said Bornona, a senior coordinator at a private school. “We’ve had to ask them where the money came from. Most often, it’s pocket money from unsuspecting parents.” She recalled that the trend is most visible among students in Classes 8 and 9, children who, she stressed, don’t read warning labels, don’t know what nicotine is, and don’t grasp that these devices can be just as harmful as cigarettes.

“They’re unaware. They think it’s just flavour – bubblegum, mango, melon. Everything is hidden under a very sweet aroma.”

At Deepali’s school, the situation unfolded with a kind of quiet shock. “We had two incidents, both from students in Class 6 and 7. One was caught through a bag check, the other left a vape behind on the sports field,” said the school principal. “The student told us a friend gave it to him. But honestly, the stories weren’t believable. These are expensive devices.”

More troubling, she noted, was the fact that many parents – when called in – had to Google the word vape in front of her.

Both educators agree that the issue is layered, part peer influence, part parental disconnect, and part institutional unpreparedness. “Most teachers didn’t even know what a vape was until I showed them,” Deepali said. “We thought our children were above this. We were wrong.”

Their approaches, though varied, share one common belief – condemnation doesn’t work, conversation does. “We don’t punish,” said Bornona. “We talk. First with the student. Then with the parents. And then we recommend counselling, genuine, long-term, confidential counselling.” Her school has even introduced awareness sessions during orientation, and invites alumni to speak to students about peer pressure and choices.

Deepali’s suggestions were similar. “This obviously stems from somewhere, so it’s better to find out where it is stemming from… punishments cannot solve this, conversations and counselling can, so we are trying…”

She also said that without systemic change, such efforts remain isolated. “There’s no awareness among parents,” adding, “Many don’t know what to look for. And when we finally sit them down, they say they’re helpless, that their kids are calling the shots.”

Bornona believes parenting today needs to evolve through openness, awareness, and regular conversations about risk, health, and influence. “You can’t raise children in 2025 with the values and exposure levels of 1980,” she said. “Some parents and even teachers haven’t moved beyond that. We’re still stuck in the past in our thinking.”

The key, she argued, is everyday engagement, talking about alcohol, tobacco, pop culture, and peer dynamics without judgement. “If you’re not having those conversations at home, you’re leaving the child to figure it all out alone and that’s when they go looking in the wrong places.”

She also said that the education system and even society must stop treating substance use as a taboo or moral failing. “These aren’t criminals, these are kids making mistakes. You can’t fix that with scolding or surveillance. It takes years of unlearning and emotional work,” she said.

So where does it stem from?

For many school students, vaping isn’t about rebellion or thrill seeking. According to psychotherapist and former school counsellor Shayoni, more often it’s about trying to fill an emotional vacuum, and navigating environments that feel unpredictable, neglectful or emotionally unsafe.

“Loneliness often results in seeking refuge in things that don’t challenge you, things that don’t talk back, things that don’t say anything, something that is not human,” she said. “So it could be a substance, a phone, a gadget, anything that gives them the illusion of comfort.”

She sees vaping not just as a health risk, but as a behavioural clue – one that points to deeper deficits in emotional intimacy. “When there’s conflict at home, or simply emotional unavailability, when parents are too busy, too distracted, too volatile, children stop seeking comfort from people. They don’t go and talk about it. They don’t want to be perceived as weak. They hold it in. And then that emotional energy goes somewhere else – it becomes a search for something that gives them control without confrontation,” she said.

Even more troubling, Shayoni pointed out, is how students are learning to frame their distress. “They search their symptoms online and start labelling themselves: ‘I have anxiety’, ‘I’m depressed’, ‘I have ADHD’, but without fully understanding what those things mean,” she said.

“There’s growing awareness of mental health, yes, but no understanding of how to respond to it. So vaping becomes a quick fix. They think it helps at that moment, but the underlying problem doesn’t go away.”

And unlike smoking, she noted, vaping feels deceptively safe because of its form and familiarity. “It looks like a pen. It smells like bubblegum. It’s marketed in a way that doesn’t scream danger. So students feel like they’re making a smarter choice.”

But what begins as a coping mechanism, she warned, can quickly escalate. “Today, they use a vape to feel better. Tomorrow, it stops working and they move to something stronger. The body adjusts. The mind craves more.”

She described this progression as subtle but steady, especially when emotional resilience is already low. “They’re not equipped to sit with discomfort. They want an off-switch, and vapes offer that illusion.”

In Shayoni’s experience, early intervention is only possible through sustained, non-judgemental engagement. “When a child feels truly heard by an adult, they leave space for advice,” she said. “But the minute they feel judged, they close that door. And then you won’t even know what’s happening.”

She believes schools must stop treating vaping as simply a behavioural offence. “It’s a form of self-regulation, for better or worse. So instead of asking “what did you do?”, we need to start asking “what’s making you feel like this in the first place?” That’s where real change begins.”

*Names have been changed to protect identities.

This report was republished from The News Minute as part of The News Minute-Newslaundry alliance. Read about our partnership here and become a subscriber here.