When Trinity College Dublin announced that it will ban vaping on campus from March 18th, it immediately sparked debate among students across Dublin. Now, the question is whether Dublin City University should follow suit. As someone who doesn’t vape ( mainly for health reasons ) but whose friends mostly do, I feel torn. I understand the reasoning behind the ban, but I’m not fully convinced it will have the impact people think it will.
Personally, I’ve avoided vaping because I’m conscious of the health risks. Even though it’s often presented as a “safer” alternative to smoking, that doesn’t mean it’s harmless. Nicotine is addictive, and there’s still a lot we don’t know about the long-term effects of inhaling flavoured vapour regularly. From that perspective, it makes sense that a university would want to discourage it. Campuses are meant to promote well-being, and reducing visible nicotine use could be seen as part of that responsibility.
However, most of my friends vape. For many of them, it started socially. It’s something people do between lectures, outside the library, or while waiting for the bus. It’s less about nicotine sometimes and more about routine and social bonding. If DCU introduced a ban tomorrow, I honestly don’t think it would stop them. They would just step outside the campus gates. The behaviour wouldn’t disappear; it would relocate.
That’s why I question whether a ban would make a huge difference. When something is so embedded in peer culture, visibility alone isn’t the only driver. Yes, not being able to vape openly on campus might reduce how normalised it looks. If you can’t see groups of students doing it together between classes, maybe first-years wouldn’t feel the same pressure to try it. There is something powerful about peer visibility. When you constantly see something happening around you, it feels standard, almost expected. Removing that visibility could slightly weaken the social reinforcement.
I also think bans can sometimes push things underground rather than reduce them. If people feel policed rather than supported, it can create resentment instead of change. Universities should absolutely prioritise student health, but they should also recognise that addiction and habit aren’t solved by signage. Education, accessible support for quitting, and open conversations about nicotine dependency might have more lasting effects than disciplinary measures.
I don’t vape, and I probably wouldn’t even if it were allowed everywhere, but I also know that simply banning it won’t suddenly make my friends stop. The influence of peer groups, stress, and routine is strong. If DCU were to follow Trinity’s lead, it might reduce how visible vaping is on campus, and that could have some influence over time. However, without proper health education and support systems alongside it, I doubt it would dramatically change student behaviour.
Ultimately, I think universities should aim for a balanced approach. Protect student health, yes, but also address why students vape in the first place. A ban alone feels like a surface-level solution to a deeper issue.