Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Jordan North was a smoker. But like millions of others in the UK, he’s recently begun vaping to help him cut back. As the numbers of young people across the UK who take up vaping skyrocket, Jordan is on a mission to find out exactly what they’re doing to our bodies (and whether he should pack it all in for good).
Once simply marketed as a safer alternative to cigarettes for smokers, vapes can now be bought in hundreds of different shapes, sizes, colours and flavours, and are available in shops on most high streets.
But many of those who now use them have never smoked, and there is increasing concern about the number of young people vaping and getting hooked to nicotine. That has led to the government announcing they intend to ban disposable vapes from being sold in the UK.
So Jordan, like many vapers, is confused. Is vaping bad for you or not? If so, how bad? What’s even inside them, and how do they work? Are they all the same, or are some more harmful than others? Do we know what the long-term impact of vaping has on our health? To help him decide whether it’s time he packed in the vapes, Jordan tries to answer these questions.
Originally broadcast 20th March 2024. The information in this programme was correct at the time of broadcast. The sale of disposable vapes in the UK was banned in 2025.
Watch Jordan North: The Truth About Vaping on BBC iPlayer: bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001xj1p
Subscribe: youtube.com/@bbcdeepwatch?sub_confirmation=1
BBC deepwatch is powered by BBC Three: bbc.co.uk/tv/bbcthree
For full accessibility, including accurate subtitles, you can watch the fully accessible version of this video on BBC iPlayer.
If you or anyone you know has been affected by this video, details of organisations offering information and support are available at BBC Action Line: bbc.co.uk/actionline
00:00 Intro
03:06 Meeting Young Vapers
05:49 What's Actually Inside A Vape?
08:38 Undercover In Illegal Vape Shops
10:55 What's Inside An Illegal Vape?
14:17 The Illegal Vape Supply Chain
19:26 Australia's Vape Ban
24:12 Jordan's Vaping Verdict
#smoking #vapes #fulldocumentary
Jordan North was a smoker. But like millions of others in the UK, he’s recently begun vaping to help him cut back. As the numbers of young people across the UK who take up vaping skyrocket, Jordan is on a mission to find out exactly what they’re doing to our bodies (and whether he should pack it all in for good).
Once simply marketed as a safer alternative to cigarettes for smokers, vapes can now be bought in hundreds of different shapes, sizes, colours and flavours, and are available in shops on most high streets.
But many of those who now use them have never smoked, and there is increasing concern about the number of young people vaping and getting hooked to nicotine. That has led to the government announcing they intend to ban disposable vapes from being sold in the UK.
So Jordan, like many vapers, is confused. Is vaping bad for you or not? If so, how bad? What’s even inside them, and how do they work? Are they all the same, or are some more harmful than others? Do we know what the long-term impact of vaping has on our health? To help him decide whether it’s time he packed in the vapes, Jordan tries to answer these questions.
Originally broadcast 20th March 2024. The information in this programme was correct at the time of broadcast. The sale of disposable vapes in the UK was banned in 2025.
Watch Jordan North: The Truth About Vaping on BBC iPlayer: bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001xj1p
Subscribe: youtube.com/@bbcdeepwatch?sub_confirmation=1
BBC deepwatch is powered by BBC Three: bbc.co.uk/tv/bbcthree
For full accessibility, including accurate subtitles, you can watch the fully accessible version of this video on BBC iPlayer.
If you or anyone you know has been affected by this video, details of organisations offering information and support are available at BBC Action Line: bbc.co.uk/actionline
00:00 Intro
03:06 Meeting Young Vapers
05:49 What's Actually Inside A Vape?
08:38 Undercover In Illegal Vape Shops
10:55 What's Inside An Illegal Vape?
14:17 The Illegal Vape Supply Chain
19:26 Australia's Vape Ban
24:12 Jordan's Vaping Verdict
#smoking #vapes #fulldocumentary
