The Quiet Normalization of Vaping: How Campus Culture May Encourage E-Cigarette Use

Written By: Aubree Kiniery, Bavitha Thomas, Jasmin Vanmali, and Marrthella Diaz, Peer Educators
Edited By: Faith Dolan
October 17th, 2025

A Common Activity

In recent years, the use of e-cigarettes, also known as vapes, has drastically increased among young adults. Today, when walking across almost any college campus, you’ll probably see someone taking a quick puff from a vape. You might even see vapes at a party, bar, or during a study break. Many people think of e-cigarettes as the “healthier” or “safer” choice compared to traditional cigarettes. However, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (2020), vaping among young adults jumped from 6% to 22% between 2016 and 2019. 

This increase is partly due to normalization and shifting societal attitudes around vaping in public. With normalization, the usage of these products is widely recognized as a typical aspect of everyday life. When it comes to the process of normalization, the first steps involve increasing visibility and representation through ads, celebrity or influencer usage, or peer usage. These usually lead to personal experimentation and tolerance, and then full integration of vaping into everyday life. Since all of us are subject to the culture of vaping, it is important for us to educate ourselves about how it shapes campus life, influences social norms, and impacts student health in ways we don’t always see.

As young adults pursuing higher-level education, it is vital that we understand the resources our institutions and their staff can offer us, as well as the precautions we can take (both environmentally and personally) to protect ourselves from the risks of certain substances and habits. Methods such as a substance avoidance plan, addiction recovery resources, and personal education on the effects of vaping can help us make informed decisions for ourselves. Since vaping has quietly shaped student culture while also posing hidden health and academic risks, it is important for us to cultivate awareness in our lives. Ultimately, awareness is the first step toward change, and it begins with understanding the choices we make every day. With awareness, we can help keep ourselves, our peers, and our campus safe. 

Student Use

Vaping has rapidly grown in popularity among students due to its accessibility, appealing flavors, and the shifting culture surrounding nicotine use. As mentioned earlier, data shows that vaping rates among college students have skyrocketed. These trends reveal a significant shift away from traditional cigarette use toward vapes and other electronic devices, with the National Health Interview Survey (2023) finding major declines in exclusive cigarette smoking alongside sharp increases in exclusive e-cigarette use.

Another significant contributor to the popularity of vaping is the influence of peers and social media. In 2024, a survey taken at Texas A&M University revealed that 33.9% of all students reported e-cigarette use (Kellet, 2024). While this explores on-campus influences, there are also online and media influences that use or promote vapes. Many TikTok influencers, A-list celebrities, and other popular figures can be seen vaping or using e-cigarettes. This, combined with the high number of vape shops around town and near campus, helps us see how this habit spreads so quickly.

The Normalization of Vaping on Campus

Alongside problems of accessibility and increased usage, vaping has also been subtly integrated into student life, making it feel socially acceptable– this is also known as normalization.

As students, we are inherently subject to the normalization of vaping, as it is made visible to us in spaces like libraries, dorms, and even in classes. Another way many individuals have found to partake in this behavior in places where it would otherwise not be allowed is by "stealth vaping." This includes vaping in bathrooms, parking garages, and even discreetly in public settings. Stealth vaping, vapor-omitting devices, and usage methods such as “ghosting,” which produces minimal to no vapor, allow for vaping to continue on campuses or in settings where the act itself is banned. Since vape devices also eliminate the need for an open flame, they tend to slip through the cracks of restrictions on public nicotine use.

How Vaping Affects Your Well-Being 

Overall, the quiet normalization of vaping can mask the serious long-term health risks the act poses, such as increased risk for cardiovascular disease and damaged blood vessels (NIH, 2022). In addition, the NIH found that e-cigarette users had significantly decreased levels of nitric oxide production in their blood vessel cells as compared to people who did not use e-cigarettes.  

When nicotine enters the bloodstream, it triggers the release of adrenaline, which leads to increased heart rate and blood pressure (NIH, 2025). This immediate stimulation causes a dopamine surge, creating a brief sense of pleasure that impairs concentration and increases stress once the feeling of pleasure wears off. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2024), youth who vape frequently report breathing difficulties and trouble concentrating. These issues can directly impact academic performance. 

While the long-term effects of vaping are still being researched, there is early evidence that suggests risks regarding brain development as well as one’s lung health. Since both things are essential for academic performance and overall well-being, it is important for students to be aware of how vaping can affect their health. With enough education, we can learn how the effects of vaping last even after the high wears off. 

Student Environment 

Now that we have talked about the effects of vaping, let’s talk about what vaping looks like on university campuses. A significant factor in the appearance of vaping on college campuses is the student culture. With stealth vaping and ghosting, the perception that vaping is safer than smoking, and the high visibility of vaping in social settings, students see it as a common and widely accepted activity. With this normalization, many students may begin to vape, which can lead to addictive behaviors. This cycle perpetuates itself as new students join and adopt the behavior, ultimately reinforcing the culture around vaping.

Although policies on different university campuses exist, enforcement challenges and limited awareness campaigns contribute to vaping’s persistence on campus (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2023). To break this cycle, there needs to be a collaboration between institutions and students to focus on stronger education, engagement, and community-led initiatives 

Shifting the Campus Culture

Vaping is a growing issue on college campuses. It started as a “better” option to smoking, but it has become normalized enough to require us to discuss how it can affect our bodies and raise awareness about its long-term effects. By addressing the campus culture around vaping, where students see other students vaping and continue the cycle, we can shift the view from “just a trend” to an educated decision that everyone carefully makes for themselves. Together, we can promote a healthy, educated, and accountable campus culture.

Resources

Substance Use & Wellness Coaching
(806) 834 – 6330 | shamcent@ttu.edu | Drane Hall room 249

Student Health Services
(806)-743-2848 | studenthealthservices@ttuhsc.edu | 1003 Flint (Corner of Flint and Main) 

Center for Students in Addiction Recovery 
(806) 742 – 2891|laura.nobles@ttu.edu| 1309 Akron

Student Counseling Center
806.742.3674 | studentcounselingcenter@ttu.edu | Student Wellness Center 201

Student Mental Health Community
806.834.6717 |heather.frazier@ttu.edu | Weeks Hall 2nd floor

References:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024).E-cigarette use among youth. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Jung, S., Murthy, D., Bateineh, B. S., Loukas, A., & Wilkinson, A. V. (2024). The Normalization of Vaping on TikTok Using Computer Vision, Natural Language Processing, and Qualitative Thematic Analysis: Mixed Methods Study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 26, e55591. 

Kellett, A. (2024).“One size does not fit all” when addressing vaping by college students.Texas A&M Vital Record.

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. (2022). NIH-funded studies show damaging effects of vaping, smoking on blood vessels. National Institutes of Health. 

National Institutes on Drug Abuse. (2020). Vaping & Cannabis Trends among young adults (19-22). National Institute on Drug Abuse.

National Institutes on Drug Abuse (2025). Vaping devices (electronic cigarettes) DrugFacts. National Institutes on Drug Abuse. 

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