Vaping, or e-cigarettes, has overtaken the use of smoking in young people aged 18 to 25 according to 2023 statistics. 15.5% of young adults reported vaping, with more than 4.7 million users in this age group. The FDA has reported a slight drop in the 2024 statistics, which is an encouraging trend.

A European study revealed vape users are more likely to vape indoors in comparison to cigarette smokers. The same study also revealed most e-cigarette users did not believe vaping will cause a fire alarm activation.

Socially, most smoking indoors has been reduced, phased out, or prohibited over the past 10 years. Technically, the use of e-cigarettes is also regulated or prohibited as well, depending on the type of facility.

With the increase in indoor vaping, there has been a similar increase in unintentional fire alarm activations in target facilities such as transient occupancies. Hotels, motels, and medical care facilities are usually code-required to have system smoke detection in all rooms. Activation of these smoke detectors results in total or partial building evacuation. This can be inconvenient in winter months, where occupants are moved outdoors until the cause is determined and the system is restored to normal.

Aside from transient occupancies, educational facilities have realized an increase in e-cigarette-caused fire alarms resulting in facility evacuation and disruption of classes. These disruptive events have prompted many schools to invest in newer technologies such as vape detectors integrated with video surveillance. Vape detectors are more sensitive to the presence of e-cigarette vapor clouds and act as a deterrent, curbing behavior. Many schools have initiated harsh disciplinary actions for offenders identified by advanced warning systems.

The overall perception is vaping will not trigger fire alarm activation. This is not the case.

Vaping will, in fact, activate photoelectric (PE) and ionization smoke detectors. A vapor cloud, if concentrated enough, will obscure the visible pathway of a PE smoke detector and provide a disruption for ionization detectors, both resulting in alarm activation.

High-powered devices produce more vapor, which increases the likelihood of activation. In many cases, these activations can result in costly responses from emergency services, fines issued to the facility or individual, and unnecessary strain on first responders.

The key reduction in fire alarm activations due to vaping is public education. Overcoming the predisposition that vaping will not set off smoke detection is the first step. Signage is a helpful reminder to guests not to vape within protected facilities. There are also a few cases with punitive consequences for individuals who cause unnecessary evacuation resulting in injury.

As the e-cigarette industry continues to grow in market share ($22.5 billion in 2023), the problems will continue to exist for the foreseeable future. Facility owners, administrators, and occupants must recognize that vaping indoors is not only a policy issue, but a life safety concern.