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Vaping's life-threatening cost: UAE doctors warn of severe health risks to teens
Doctors in the UAE are raising alarm as teenagers develop severe lung inflammation linked to vaping, with one 16-year-old requiring intensive care
- PUBLISHED: Mon 1 Jun 2026, 12:06 PM
A 16-year-old in the UAE had to be admitted to the intensive care unit after developing severe lung inflammation linked to vaping, a pulmonologist has warned, as doctors raise concern over teenagers turning to vapes and other nicotine products.
Dr Yazeed Abed El Khaleq, Consultant Pulmonology at Burjeel Hospital, Abu Dhabi, said the youngest patient he had seen in the UAE who was vaping regularly was 16. “The condition was serious enough to require admission to the intensive care unit, making it potentially life-threatening,” he told Khaleej Times.
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The warning comes as the World Health Organization’s Eastern Mediterranean office raised concern over tobacco and nicotine products being engineered to attract and addict a new generation of users.
On World No Tobacco Day 2026, WHO called for urgent action to “unmask the appeal” of such products, warning that flavours, branding and digital platforms are being used to normalise nicotine use among children and adolescents.
The organisation also warned that young people are, on average, nine times more likely to use e-cigarettes than adults, with adolescent e-cigarette use reaching 30 per cent in some areas of the region.
As a paediatrician and a mother, I find this deeply concerning. These products are designed to create addiction early, targeting young people at a stage of life when their bodies and brains are still developing.
Dr Hanan Balkhy, Regional Director, Eastern Mediterranean, World Health Organization
Starting with vapes
A UAE-based doctor said he has seen adolescents in their mid-to-late teenage years who report regular use of vaping or nicotine products.
Dr Prabhu Prasad N.C., Specialist Pulmonologist at RAK Hospital, said adolescents who use vapes or nicotine products often do not initially present as addiction cases.
“They usually come with cough, wheeze, throat irritation, breathlessness, poor exercise tolerance, sleep disturbance, anxiety, or repeated respiratory symptoms,” he said. “Only when we ask specifically about vaping, e-cigarettes, disposable vapes, shisha, cigarettes, or nicotine pouches does the history become clear.”
Dr Yazeed said many teenagers are starting with vapes rather than cigarettes, often because they believe vaping is less harmful, more socially acceptable, and easier to hide.
Dr Prabhu said the common reasons young users give include “curiosity, peer influence, stress, wanting to ‘try once,’ attractive flavours, or the belief that vaping is not as harmful as smoking”.
Not just ‘flavoured air’
Doctors said one of the biggest misconceptions among young users is that vaping is harmless because it does not look or smell like cigarette smoking.
“A major problem is the misconception that vaping is only ‘flavoured air’ or ‘water vapour’,” said Dr Prabhu. “In reality, vaping aerosol may contain nicotine, solvents, flavouring chemicals, ultrafine particles, metals from the heating coil, and toxic byproducts formed during heating. So, while it may not smell like tobacco smoke, it is still a chemical exposure to the lungs.”
Dr Yazeed said many young patients do not fully understand that vapes and newer nicotine products can still be addictive and harmful.
“We need stronger public awareness campaigns to educate young people and families about the risks associated with these products, including addiction and long-term health effects,” he said.
Both doctors said flavours, colourful packaging and social media content make vaping more attractive to young people.
“The marketing of these products is not as regulated or monitored as cigarettes,” said Dr Yazeed. “It also encourages them to try different products and flavors, which increases their risk as they are exposed to more chemicals and toxins.”
Dr Prabhu said flavours such as fruit, mint, candy, dessert or energy-drink-like flavours reduce the harshness of nicotine and make the first experience easier for young users.
“Colourful packaging and sleek devices make the product look more like a lifestyle accessory than a nicotine-delivery system,” he said.
“Social media adds another layer by normalising vaping. Short videos, influencer-style content, group use, tricks with vapour clouds, and casual online visibility can make vaping appear fashionable, harmless, or even sophisticated. This masks the central issue: many of these products are designed to deliver nicotine efficiently and keep the user coming back.”
Health effects
Dr Prabhu said common respiratory complaints include cough, throat irritation, chest tightness, wheeze, breathlessness during exercise and worsening of asthma-like symptoms.
“Beyond the lungs, nicotine can affect sleep, mood, anxiety levels, and concentration. Young users may describe restlessness, irritability, craving, difficulty focusing, or needing to vape soon after waking or during the school day. These are warning signs of dependence.”
He said vaping can also become a coping mechanism for stress, but may worsen the cycle of anxiety, craving and withdrawal.
“The danger is that addiction may develop silently,” he said. “A teenager may begin with occasional use at school, with friends, or during stress, and later find it difficult to stop because of cravings, irritability, anxiety, poor concentration, or withdrawal symptoms. By the time they realise they are dependent, quitting becomes much harder.”
What parents should watch for
Doctors said many parents do not initially realise their children are vaping because devices are small, discreet and may produce only a mild or fruity smell.
“It is harder for parents to detect vaping compared to cigarettes because there is less smell and the devices are easier to hide,” said Dr Yazeed.
He said warning signs include behavioural changes, excessive spending, persistent cough, staying locked in bedrooms, dry lips and multiple mouth sores due to the effect of chemicals in vapes.
Dr Prabhu said parents should also watch for wheezing, reduced sports performance, breathlessness, throat irritation, frequent use of mint or mouth fresheners, sweet or fruity smells from a room or bag, unusual devices or cartridges, frequent bathroom breaks, secrecy, irritability, anxiety, sleep disturbance and changes in concentration or school performance.
As Associate Editor, Sahim Salim helps tell the UAE story like no one else does — and leads a team of reporters that asks the questions to get news and headlines that matter.