The personal health concerns of vaping may not move Gen Z, but when it comes to showing solidarity with the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, tossing their e-cigarettes is easy.
On TikTok, young users are posting videos dunking their vapes in water or vowing never to touch them again because of the devices' connections to cobalt mining in the DRC, which has been condemned for years by human rights groups.
Cobalt is used to manufacture lithium-ion batteries that power much of the world's electronics. Major vape brands like Juul, Vaporesso, and Elf Bar use lithium-ion batteries, as do many other companies and products, from laptops to cellphones.
One of the most viewed videos comes from user itskristinamf, a 25-year-old who said she no longer felt "comfortable" about vaping after learning about the horrific abuses that Congolese miners and children face obtaining cobalt.
Kristina, whose video has been viewed 1.8 million times, said her disposable vape was the only thing she bought often enough to be an issue. In the US, 4.5 disposable vapes are thrown out each second.
Kristina told Business Insider that she began vaping a few years ago to kick her cigarette habit. Before she quit, she would grab her vape first thing in the morning. At one point, her vape became a part of her internet personality. But Congo made her quit.
"I didn't want to but I started looking into what was being made in the vapes… and I started getting this guilt," she said. "If I do want to help, and I want to be about what I talk about, I got to put this vape down."
Others followed suit, with hundreds of commenters and content creators declaring they would put down their vapes in solidarity.
One video becomes a movement
Afia, a 23-year-old New Yorker and content creator on TikTok who goes by the username gennasaiquoi, told Business Insider she had also seen Kristina's video and became inspired to quit vaping.
She had been vaping since 2017 and has been trying to quit on and off again for years. Despite being aware of the "serious" health problems that could result from long-nicotine usage, her efforts were met with little success.
"I would look back and think to myself, 'what is going to make me quit'… and I finally found my answer," Afia said.
Afia posted a video on TikTok in mid-November explaining her decision to quit and saying "never again" to vaping.
It's been over two weeks since she posted her video, but Afia told Business Insider she's going strong. When she gets a nicotine craving, she said it helps to remind herself that she's "not going to be supporting genocide."
It's not just Gen Z who is participating. Chris, a 27-year-old millennial, posted a video of them tossing their full vape into the trash. They told Business Insider that they were compelled to quit vaping partially because they are African American, and "in some way, shape, or form, that's my family."
Making a TikTok, Chris said, was "small compared to what those people are sacrificing" but they hoped it would help spread awareness about the issue.
"I've always been silenced by family and authority, and I want to be able to use my voice in a positive way," Chris said. "I'm noticing that people care about my voice on TikTok, and if I can make any type of change, I want to."
Zoe Floyd, a 22-year-old former vaper, took action to show solidarity with people in Congo.
"I like to think that it is revolutionary love…Why are we quitting for other people? We won't even quit for ourselves," Floyd told Business Insider.
TikTok creators told Business Insider that the resurgence in interest surrounding Congo comes around the time when young activists are speaking out against the Israeli military siege in Gaza, which has resulted in mass civilian deaths and human rights abuses. The conversation about Israel-Palestine prompted users on social media to bring attention to social justice issues all over the world — from Haiti to Yemen.
"My generation, the younger generations, we aren't like the boomers," Afia told Business Insider. "We have that empathy chip inside of us, where if we see human suffering, we know that. And if we have a way to stop it by using our voices, we're going to do that."
The most abundant source of cobalt
Congo is the world's most abundant source of cobalt. World governments, including the US and China, are turning to the African nation to power their transition from fossil fuels.
However, the mining comes at a steep cost and is tied to conflict and mass displacement in the region. The practice of mining itself for as low as 35 cents an hour is hazardous, and miners frequently die on the job. Workers often dig through the mines with crude tools, lack safety equipment, and are exposed to cobalt, which is harmful to breathe and touch. Exposure has been linked to lung disease and heart failure.
Child labor is also a massive problem in these mines, according to a US Department of Labor report. Children miss school to collect cobalt and can be trafficked along with their families into working at these mines, per the report, and if their parents die, children are "orphaned with no option but to continue working."
'Unwitting participants in this violence'
Afia said the ultimate goal of the boycott is to put pressure on the multibillion-dollar vape industry that relies on these minerals to power its products. And if those quitters stay away from vapes, it could impact the market permanently.
In 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 2.13 million middle and high school students in the US had used a vaping product in the last month. Another report from the CDC found that in 2021, about 11% of adults 18-24 years old vaped.
Siddharth Kara, author of "Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives," told Business Insider that he applauds anyone using their voice for Congo.
"I think what's happening is a lot of people feel angry that they've been made unwitting participants in this violence," Kara said. "Companies that sell us rechargeable things all proclaim their supply chains are clean and untainted and free of child labor and other abuses. And it's just not true."
Christoph Vogel, author of "Conflict Minerals, Inc.: War, Profit and White Saviourism in Eastern Congo," however, cautioned that online Western movements run the risk of simplifying and dominating the conversation about Congo instead of centering Congolese voices.
Through his research, he's found that previous pushes in the 2000s from companies to sell "conflict-free" minerals from Congo resulted in more violence in the region — partly because there was a lack of consultation with Congolese activists and residents.
Vogel said to avoid what writer Teju Cole calls the "White Savior Industrial Complex," people should pay attention to who is benefiting from their actions, and if you also stand to benefit, be extra critical of your choices. Vogel also encouraged people participating in these boycotts to research the connections between vapes and cobalt.
"Ask questions, be critical, don't believe the easy pitches," Vogel told Business Insider.
