A study of vaping habits among young people found that for them, vaping is a way to socialize rather than ingest nicotine . For adults, vaping is a way to quit smoking , while for young people, performing cloud tricks with their vapes and sharing them on social media is a hobby mastered by cloud chasers like Californian Zachajawea.
“Young people do not see vaping as a form of smoking.” This is the message that Fiona Measham mentioned in her latest article. For this professor of criminology at Durham University’s department of applied social psychology, it is clear that the motivations for young people to vape are very different from those of adults.
In a study of 14-25 year olds' behavior toward e-cigarettes , researchers found that only 28% of participants said they used e-cigarettes to help them quit smoking.
For others, vaping isn't about how much nicotine they consume, it's about the taste of the e-liquid and the big, fragrant clouds of smoke, "cloud chasing", or a form of smoke art called "cloud tricks".
“Our research finds that vaping has become a phenomenon of its own rather than just another form of traditional smoking.”
- F. Measham -
A product that is manufactured to target the lifestyle of young people and marketed as such.
According to the author, the flavors that young people find particularly attractive are candy-flavored essential oils and some flavors for adults such as alcoholic cocktails, energy drinks, etc. Groups of young people often discuss with each other the essential oils they make themselves and use for weekend parties.
In the group the researcher focused on, the author also noted some discussions about tricks they could perform, what these young people had learned from professional vapers through videos of their performances shared on social media. She also noted trick terminology such as “smoke rings,” “blowing O,” and “tornadoes.” E-cigarettes were used by teenage boys, most of whom were defined as “a social activity that enhanced the status of the group” and was considered “cool.” Public performances allowed them to show off their vape trick skills.
“Cloud chasing” or “Cloud tricks” is considered a professional sport, some even consider it an art. Smoker trick competitions are held a lot in vape exhibitions around the world, here, professional vapers will use special mods and e-juices for smoke tricks instead of regular mods.
You can’t miss Californian vaper Zach Berge, also known as Zachajawea at vape shows, his amazing trick skills are well known on social media. Along with that, his community, VGOD, also produces e-liquids and atomizers specifically designed for this art.
Below is a video demonstrating a smoke trick by tricker Huy Hipz of The Vape Club.
This article was published on Vapingpost by Simon Rosselat and translated by The Vape Club
