Academics are issuing a stark warning that the widespread use of vapes is actively compromising the human rights of children, calling for significantly stricter regulation of e-cigarettes.
Nicotine's Impact on the Developing Brain
A new analysis, published in The BMJ on Thursday 13 November 2025, highlights a critical concern: teenagers are particularly sensitive to nicotine exposure. This heightened sensitivity may lead to serious long-term consequences for their developing brains, specifically affecting areas responsible for attention, cognition, memory, and mood.
Experts point to deeply worrying trends emerging in schools and communities. These include children skipping lessons to satisfy a nicotine craving and struggling to concentrate in class due to dependence. There is also a strong concern that vape use is acting as a gateway, leading young people towards traditional tobacco smoking.
A Call for Child-Focused Regulation
The authors of the analysis argue that governments are frequently overlooking the specific harms posed to children, often influenced by industry claims about the products. They stress that any potential benefit of vapes is exclusively for adult smokers trying to quit, not for the wider population or non-smoking youth.
To combat this growing epidemic, the academics suggest a powerful legal framework already exists. They propose that international human rights law, including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the World Health Organization's framework convention on tobacco control, can and should provide a solid legal basis for implementing robust, child-focused e-cigarette regulations.
The Legal Basis for Protection
By framing the issue as a matter of children's rights, the call for action takes on a new urgency. The study contends that protecting adolescents from the documented harms of nicotine is not just a public health recommendation, but a legal and ethical obligation for governments worldwide.
