Q&A: E-cigarettes doubling as gaming devices put youth at risk for addiction

Key takeaways:

• Pac-Man, Tetris, Jet Fighter and a virtual pet game have been discovered on e-cigarettes.
• Some games only progress when an individual vapes.
• Clinicians should remind young patients about the dangers of nicotine.

Vaping devices with games are creating an even bigger challenge when it comes to convincing adolescents not to vape, posing dangers of nicotine addiction and gaming disorder, according to a press release.

In a paper published in Tobacco Control, Man (Jon) Wong, lab assistant at University of California - Riverside, and Prue Talbot, PhD, professor of the graduate division at University of California, Riverside, highlight three e-cigarettes with screen displays and digital games available to purchase online as of May 2024.

Notably, one device, the Craftbox V-Play, went viral on X in April 2024. The post included a picture of someone playing Pac-Man on the vaping device and was seen by 11.7 million people in 3 days, according to Wong and Talbot.

Healio spoke with Wong and Talbot to learn more about these vaping/gaming devices, consequences of daily play and how clinicians can protect their younger patients from these devices.

Healio: What types of games did you discover on vaping devices during your research? How many brands offer this type of device?

Wong and Talbot: We discovered various types of games. Some resembled retro arcade games, such as Pac-Man, Tetris and Jet Fighter. One was a slot machine, which could be played when the vape was not in use. Other games that integrated vaping include Virtual Pet and Puff Count Competition. To our knowledge, there are currently three brands of electronic nicotine devices that include games. There are also cannabis vapes that integrate gaming; however, these were not within the scope of our study.

Healio: Some of the games are more dangerous than others, such as the ones that only progress when an individual vapes. What are the consequences of playing these types of games daily?

Wong and Talbot: Since games of this type encourage vaping, the likelihood of rapidly becoming addicted to nicotine increases. These games could also couple nicotine addiction and gaming disorder, in which gaming becomes reinforced by nicotine.

Healio: In addition to nicotine dependence, what are other dangers of digital games on vaping devices?

Wong and Talbot: Digital gaming and other smart features on vaping devices could entice individuals with no previous interest in tobacco or e-cigarettes to try vaping, leading to nicotine dependence. This could lead to more youth getting exposed to and addicted to nicotine.

Healio: How does the nicotine and other chemical content of these devices compare with other disposable vapes?

Wong and Talbot: The nicotine concentration in these products is approximately 5%, which is similar to fourth-generation products, such as JUUL, PUFF and ELFBAR. Although our study did not report on other chemicals in the smart devices, e-cigarette fluids generally contain flavor chemicals, often at high concentrations, and solvents such as propylene glycol and glycerol. Recent products also usually have synthetic coolants such as WS-23.

Healio: How can clinicians protect their younger patients from these devices?

Wong and Talbot: Clinicians can encourage younger patients that vape to stop vaping. For young patients that do not vape, they could increase their awareness of the negative health effects of long-term nicotine use. They should also make clear to young patients that nicotine is addictive, and the addiction may be hard to break.

Healio: What actions do you encourage the FDA to take against these devices?

Wong and Talbot: The FDA could make efforts to remove these products from the U.S. market, as they have for vapes that look like toys, and stop the new wave of smart vapes currently entering the U.S. market. The FDA could also move to ban disposable vapes as the U.K. moved to in January 2024 due to the massive lithium waste generated by disposable vapes.

For more information:

Man (Jon) Wong can be reached at man.wong002@email.ucr.edu.

Prue Talbot, PhD, can be reached at prue.talbot@ucr.edu.

References:

• Digital games on vaping device could lure more youth to nicotine addiction. https://news.ucr.edu/articles/2024/07/22/digital-games-vaping-devices-could-lure-more-youth-nicotine-addiction. Published July 22, 2024. Accessed July 24, 2024.
• Wong M, et al. Tobacco Control. 2024;doi:10.1136/tc-2024-058794.