How to talk to your children about vaping
February 17, 2026
Medically Reviewed | Last reviewed by Jennifer Cofer, Dr.P.H., and Mark Moreno on February 17, 2026
About 1.63 million American children under age 18 — roughly 6% of our youth population — reported vaping in 2024. That figure represents a significant drop since 2019, when almost 30% of young people in the U.S. reported using e-cigarettes.
But 1.63 million children vaping is still far too many. The nicotine in these products can disrupt their brain development, negatively impact their learning ability, and amplify their feelings of anxiety and depression.
So, how do you talk to your children about the dangers of vaping? Jennifer Cofer, Dr.P.H., executive director of EndTobacco™, and Mark Moreno, senior vice president for Governmental Relations and Health Policy at MD Anderson, explored this topic recently on our Cancerwise podcast. Here’s what they recommend.
Be prepared, and arm yourself with the facts
You never know when a child might pop up with an unexpected question about vaping. But if you’re caught off guard, you might not be able to make the most of the opportunity.
“That’s why the first thing I tell parents is to make sure you’re educated on the actual facts,” says Cofer. “99% of the devices on the market today contain nicotine. So, when your child says, ‘It's just water vapor,’ or ‘It’s just flavored water,’ you’ll be able to contradict that. Because it’s not true. There’s actually a lot of nicotine in these devices.”
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How to talk to your children about vaping
Keep the conversation age-appropriate
The way a sixth grader talks and thinks about vaping is going to be very different from the way a senior in high school sees it. So, it’s important to keep the conversation age-appropriate.
“Still, it’s absolutely critical to have the conversation,” says Cofer. “Your children have almost certainly been exposed to vaping already — whether it’s in the bathrooms at school where their classmates are doing it, or in social settings, where they’re hearing their peers talk about it.”
That’s why Cofer encourages parents to be proactive by initiating these conversations themselves.
“If you’re driving past a vape shop on the way to soccer practice, ask your child, ‘What do you think they’re selling in there? or ‘What do you know about vaping?’ See what their knowledge level is, and you’ll know where to start, depending on their answer,” she says.
Make it personal, but not overly dramatic
Trying to scare your children off vaping by suggesting that it will wreck their lungs probably won’t work. But an argument will be much more persuasive if you can connect vaping’s consequences to something they love — and show how it could be negatively impacted.
“Think about the activities they’re into,” suggests Cofer. “Do they participate in sports or marching band? If so, ask them, ‘Why would you want to put something in your body that could damage your lungs and jeopardize your ability to get a football scholarship or play the saxophone?’ Looping it back to them and their interests is very important.”
“Our son is an athlete,” notes Moreno. “So, helping him understand the potential harms of those products and what they could do to his ability to compete at the highest level really made an impact.”
For more tips from Moreno and Cofer, listen to the entire podcast.
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