Addiction doesn’t start overnight, it’s a process. It often begins with curiosity, a desire to fit in, or a way to escape stress or pain. What may seem harmless at first, can turn into something your brain and body depend on. This section explores the cycle of addiction, nicotine withdrawal symptoms, and outside influences that can make quitting hard.

Addiction is a cycle or a pattern that many people fall into without realizing it. The cycle can keep repeating, too. Unless something interrupts the cycle, like reaching out for help, learning healthy ways to deal with stress, or getting support from others, addiction will continue. The good news is, understanding the cycle is the first step to breaking an addiction.

Do You Know the Signs?

These examples are only meant to help you learn and understand what addiction can feel like. They are not meant to promote or encourage any type of substance use.

Quitting an addiction isn’t easy, especially for a teen. Just trying to stop can cause stress, mood swings, cravings, and physical discomfort. On top of that, peer pressure, emotional struggles, or daily routines can trigger the urge to use again. Trying to quit vaping isn’t any easier. With thousands of flavors and social media marketing, the temptation to vape is everywhere.

Withdrawal Symptoms

Quitting a drug like nicotine isn't just about willpower, it's a real challenge because of how the drug affects the brain. When someone, especially a teen, tries to quit using nicotine, their brain and body react. This happens because the brain has gotten used to having nicotine to feel good. Once it's taken away, symptoms like headaches, feeling tired or cranky, having trouble sleeping, feeling hungrier than usual, and having a strong urge to vape can occur. These are known as nicotine withdrawal symptoms. These symptoms happen because the body is getting used to not having nicotine, which it started to depend on. The good news is that these symptoms are temporary and a sign that the body is trying to get back to feeling normal.

Social Influence

Many young people are also exposed to vaping through powerful social influences that shape their thoughts about whether to try a vape or not. Peer pressure plays a significant role, as teens want to be accepted by their friends and peers. Sometimes, young people will vape or use a tobacco product because their friends do too, a friend gave it to them, or someone bought it for them. If family members use tobacco, that can normalize its use, too, making it seem like a normal, acceptable thing to do.

Social Media

Social media plays a big role in encouraging young people to vape. Many vape companies use colorful ads, trendy music, and influencers to make their products look cool or harmless. Even if it is not a direct ad, students often see people their age using vapes in videos, selfies, or challenges online. This kind of content can make vaping seem fun, popular, or normal. The more teens see it online, the more likely they are to think "everyone is doing it," which increases the chances to vape.

For many teens, their first experience with vaping is through flavored products. Research shows that young people are more likely to keep using a product if it tastes like sweet foods or candy. That’s why the vaping industry shifted their marketing from menthol flavors to sweeter ones like fruit and candy.