Vaping and Anxiety: How E-Cigarettes Affect Teens

Vaping is a widespread concern among youth, with over 1.5 million teens reporting vape or e-cigarette use. This is equal to the population of Jacksonville— Florida’s largest city. Many teens report first trying a vape because “a friend had one”, but continue because they feel anxious, stressed, or depressed. A survey from 2021 revealed that 81% of young people who started vaping did so to reduce stress and anxiety [1]. 

Although teens report using vapes as a self-medication for anxiety, in the long term, it creates a dangerous cycle, worsening symptoms, damaging mental health, and increasing the risk of severe medical conditions. 

More than half of teens who want to quit report wanting to do so but struggle. Help your teen build positive coping skills and connect with resources to put down the vape. 

Why Teens Turn to Vaping?

Teens turn to vaping for a variety of reasons; peers influence many, while others use it to cope with stress or anxiety. Teens who struggle with an “oral fixation” (desire always to have something in their mouth) are at an increased risk of vaping.  Other common reasons teens turn to vaping include [1][2]: 

• Stress relief: Teens perceive vaping as a quick way to relieve stress and anxiety. Nicotine stimulates certain brain chemicals that increase relaxation in the short term, but over time worsen mental health as dependence grows. 

• Boredom: Many teens vape simply to pass the time or as a temporary distraction from daily life. This often becomes a repetitive behavior.

• Branding: Vapes are marketed with bright, colorful packages and fun flavors such as apple pie and banana split, making them more appealing to youth. 

• Get a buzz: Some teens vape just to experiment, get high, or feel a buzz. Curiosity combined with peer pressure often plays a role in this. 

Does Vaping Cause Anxiety?

According to the American Heart Association, there is a strong link between vaping and symptoms of anxiety. More than 60% of nicotine and THC vapers report experiencing symptoms of anxiety, and vaping is associated with higher chances of having a clinically diagnosed anxiety disorder [3]. 

Vaping contributes to anxiety because of how nicotine, the addictive chemical in vapes, affects the brain. Nicotine can increase the stress hormone, cortisol, which can elevate stress levels, impact sleep, and, over time, lead to anxiety. 

Chronic vape users are more likely to report negative mental health days and struggle with symptoms of anxiety, especially during the detox period. Withdrawal symptoms from vaping include:

• Upset stomach
• Increased heart rate/blood pressure
• Headache
• Sweating   

How Anxiety and Vaping Feed Into Each Other

Anxiety and vaping become a feedback loop. Vaping becomes a way to manage, but as dependence grows, nicotine withdrawal can worsen anxiety. This cycle also makes it hard for teens to build positive coping skills as vaping becomes an “easy escape” or “quick fix” for emotional distress. Studies show that quitting vaping contributes to lower levels of anxiety, depression, and improved well-being [4]. 

Consequences of Vaping in the Respiratory System and Overall Health

Besides mental health, vaping is linked to several serious respiratory disorders. It can increase the risk of developing asthma or exacerbate already existing symptoms. “Popcorn lung” (bronchitis), as seen on the news, can permanently scar the lungs and cause life-threatening symptoms. This is caused by diacetyl, a chemical flavoring in some vapes. 

According to the American Lung Association, EVALI is another condition and stands for “e-cigarette, or vaping, product use-associated lung injury.” It is an acute respiratory illness that causes coughing, shortness of breath, chest pain, and can be fatal [5]. If you’re wondering, can your lungs heal from vaping? The answer is yes. Many report improvements in lung functioning 2 to 3 weeks after they quit use. 

Besides the lungs, vaping affects several other areas of health, including:  

• Heart: Raises blood pressure, heart rate 

• Cancer: Unregulated chemicals in vapes may be carcinogenic

• Brain: Nicotine exposure during development alters certain receptors (glutamate and acetylcholine) in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), affecting cognitive functions such as mood, emotional regulation, memory, and attention [6]. 

• Stomach: Increases levels of gastric acid, causing symptoms such as nausea, heartburn, and indigestion [7]. 

Quitting Vaping and Managing Anxiety  

It’s understandable to want to go straight to punishing your teen if you find out they are vaping. However, if they are doing it to self-medicate with anxiety, stress, or depression, it’s important to address their mental health. 

Helping your teen work through challenges, learn positive coping skills, or connect with professional support can help them end the nasty habit and reduce their anxiety. 

• Explore why they vape or started in the first place. Do their friends do it? Are they coping with stress?  Create a non-judgmental space where they feel comfortable discussing their habit and anxiety without fear of punishment or a lecture. 

• Educate them on the effects of nicotine and how it actually worsens anxiety over time. Show them a YouTube video so they can visualize how nicotine affects the brain. 
  
  • Here is a resource from the CDC: Nicotine Affects the Brain. Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) Can Help You Quit Smoking.

• Encourage them to practice healthy coping skills for managing their anxiety, such as getting creative, listening to music, playing with their pet, or 

• Help them find an alternative to vaping. Vaping alternatives include chewing gum, sucking on lollipops, and drinking plenty of water to swap out the oral fixation. 

• Build a supportive environment. Involve other family members or friends to be part of the quitting process. If you also vape, try quitting with them to model healthy habits. 

• Connect them with a professional mental health support who specializes in addiction and co-occurring mental health challenges, such as anxiety, to provide tailored treatment and, if necessary, medication. 

Teen Vaping and Anxiety Treatment at Lotus Behavioral Health in Florida

Lotus Behavioral Health helps teens recovering from substance abuse & co-occurring disorders break addictive tendencies and develop healthy habits that support their long-term recovery. Our residential, PHP, and IOP treatment programs take a family-first approach to help teens build a sustainable lifestyle that encourages sobriety & success. 

If you are concerned that your teen is struggling with an addiction to e-cigarettes, reach out to our admissions team today for support.  

Sources

[1] Truth Initaitve. 2021. Many young people turn to nicotine to deal with stress, anxiety, and depression, but don’t know it may be making them feel worse. 

[2] CDC. 2025. Health Effects of Vaping. ‍

[3] Arnst, J. 2023. Depression & anxiety symptoms linked to vaping nicotine and THC in teens and young adults. American Heart Association. 

[4] Ahmed, S. et al. (2022). A Scoping Review of Vaping, E-Cigarettes and Mental Health Impact: Depression and Suicidality. Journal of community hospital internal medicine perspectives, 12(3), 33–39.

[5] American Lung Association. E-cigarette or Vaping Use-Associated Lung Injury (EVALI). 

[6] Mansvelder, H. et al. (2012). Nicotine exposure during adolescence alters the rules for prefrontal cortical synaptic plasticity during adulthood. Frontiers in synaptic neuroscience, 4, 3.

[7] Johns Hopkins Medicine. Smoking and the Digestive System. 

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