They seduce with sweet flavors of watermelon, blueberry and peach and catch the eye with bright color accents.
Videos of the so-called puff bars are currently spreading on the social medium Tik Tok, where users test or advertise the illegal disposable e-cigarettes.
And in various places around the world, researchers describe how the use of colorful e-cigarettes is increasing among children and young people from 12 years of age. But the trend could wreak lasting damage on young minds, tobacco experts warn.
A few weeks of experimenting is enough
Charlotta Holm Pisinger is Professor of Tobacco Prevention at the Danish University of Copenhagen and a leading expert.
She closely monitors tobacco use among young people and is concerned about the trend.
What young people themselves may see as a fun fad, she says, can have serious long-term consequences.
Smoking is known to mean that as a young person you only have to experiment with nicotine for a few weeks or you are so addicted that it is very difficult to kick the habit.
More than two packs of cigarettes
And disposable e-cigarettes are much more dangerous than their colorful appearance suggests, explains Charlotta Pisinger.
Each puff bar contains approximately 400 puffs and comes in two strengths: a 2 percent nicotine version and a 5 percent version.
One version contains approximately the nicotine content of a pack of cigarettes, and the nicotine content of the other version is equivalent to more than two packs of cigarettes.
At the same time, the products use so-called nicotine salts, making them easier to inhale.
For example, young people get more nicotine into their lungs faster – which further increases the risk of addiction.
Scary tracks in the brain
Another important consequence of nicotine use in children can be long-term damage to brain development.
‘The teenage brain is naturally heavily remodeled during development, which makes it extremely vulnerable to these types of drugs,’ says Charlotta Pisinger.
She explains that numerous animal studies and CT scans of young brains show that nicotine leaves lasting traces. And that nicotine can also open the door to addiction to other drugs, such as hashish, alcohol and cocaine, because the brain gets used to being under the influence.
‘Nicotine can damage the connections that form in the brain, making it more difficult to learn and concentrate, for example. We also know that the toxin increases the risk of anxiety and depression,” she says.