Expert sounds off on upsetting Gen Z behavioral trend: 'Everyone is quickly losing patience'

Maddy Mussen, lifestyle and fashion writer and Generation Z expert, shared her insight about Gen Z vaping practices in an article for The Standard headlined, "Gen Z will vape wherever they want and don't care who they piss off."

Mussen cited several reasons for her own Gen Z's nonchalance around vaping while acknowledging the downsides.

Compared to cigarettes, the lack of lingering, offensive odor has allowed vapers to be somewhat less courteous about where they vape. Mussen pointed out that many vapers start inside the home, then try out more public locations, becoming "increasingly emboldened," unencumbered by risk of starting a fire or offending others with a foul odor.

She added that she thinks Gen Z is the most likely to vape wherever and whenever they choose.

Mussen shared that the Office of National Statistics reported that 15.8% of young adults between 18 and 24 years old said they vaped daily or occasionally. This was up from 7% in 2020. She also noted that one University College London study claimed the figure may be as high as 29%.

Regardless, vaping among Gen Z is on the rise.

Mussen felt as if her generation sees vapes as pacifiers and that they will vape nearly anywhere, which is making non-vapers angry.

While vape cartridges do not contain the harmful tar and carbon monoxide that cigarettes do, they are highly addictive and can cause serious health issues, especially in young people. It can also cause environmental harm.

Vaping, especially with disposable devices, is creating environmental challenges. People are discarding vape cartridges on the ground or improperly disposing of them in landfills. The plastic components take hundreds of years to decompose, and the lithium-ion batteries are a fire hazard and a waste of resources that could be recycled.

Although it does not typically smell bad, secondhand vape aerosol is harmful to bystanders.

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E-cigarettes contain nicotine, the addictive element that is known to have adverse health effects, according to the CDC. It can cause cancer and, if used by adolescents and young adults, can harm brain development. 

This makes Gen Z's increased vaping particularly alarming.

Mussen noted her frustration with Gen Z's lack of concern surrounding vaping practices. 

"So yes, Gen Z are vaping wherever they want, and everyone is quickly losing patience," she wrote. "But if it's any consolation, it looks like we're going to learn our lesson the hard way eventually."

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