Clearing the air - Vaping and young people

You may have heard a lot recently about young people in Australia vaping.

But what’s really going on?

Information on vaping can be confusing. And the lack of distinction between ‘nicotine’ and ‘nicotine-free’ e-cigarettes (vapes), makes it challenging to understand the risks.

So here we break down what vaping is, why it may be appealing to young people, and some of the risks we know about.

What is vaping?

Vaping is the use of electronic devices (e-cigarettes, vapes) to heat liquids and produce a vapor, which is then inhaled – mimicking the act of smoking.

Vapes are battery powered, hand-held devices that use cartridges filled with liquid (‘juice’) that can contain:

• nicotine
• flavourings
• other substances (e.g cannabis).¹

Vaping devices have changed in shape, size, and style since their introduction in 2003. Current vaping devices are smaller, often resembling USB sticks.

Vapes can be modified to produce a more harmful level of nicotine.

Larger batteries in some vapes allow for e-liquids to be heated to higher temperatures, producing more toxic chemicals.^{2, 3}

Can vaping help me quit smoking?

You might have heard that people can use vaping to reduce or quit smoking – but, there’s currently not enough evidence to support these claims.

Australia’s Therapeutics Goods Administration (TGA) has not approved vapes or e-liquids as a smoking cessation tool.⁴

Is vaping legal in Australia?

• Nicotine-free vapes and e-liquids can be sold and purchased legally in most states and territories through online and tobacco retail stores.
• The commercial sale of e-cigarettes and e-liquid containing nicotine is illegal.
• It’s also illegal to buy e-cigarettes or e-liquid that contain nicotine online without a medical prescription.⁵

Often, vapes and e-liquids in Australia aren’t labelled properly with their ingredients or nicotine contents. So far, producers of vapes have faced limited legal consequences. The market for vapes is mostly online, making regulating these products difficult.

This means you can’t always be sure what’s in vaping products.

Why do young people vape?

Australian surveys show that vaping among young people has increased. However, the rate of cigarette smoking amongst young people continues to decline ^{5, 6}

In 2021:

• 7.6% of young people aged between 15-17 had ever tried an e-cigarette or vape – just under one in twelve.
• 21.7% of young people aged between 18-24 had ever tried an e-cigarette or vape – just over one in five.⁷

Adolescence is marked by rapid changes and experimentation from about 10 years of age into early adulthood. These stages of development are important and normal for young people who are developing a sense of identity, independence, values, and social networks.⁸

This ongoing development may also increase risk taking, including vaping.

We also know that:

• Of young adults aged between 18-24 who tried vaping, the majority (73%) said they did so out of curiosity.⁶
• Students aged between 12-17 who had vaped reported they last used from a friend’s device (63%).⁵

What makes vaping appealing to young people?

Advertising and promoting vaping products is illegal in Australia, but companies are using other tactics to target young people.

Companies are creating flavours such as candy, mango, peppermint, and vanilla to entice young people and normalise vaping as a fun recreational activity.

These flavours smell and taste more appealing than cigarettes. But, companies are often not telling people about the health risks.^9-12

Social media and online channels also have an important role to play as an information and exposure source for young people.

Young people may also be drawn to vaping because devices are brightly coloured, small and easy to hide.

And, they’re often easier to get hold of and more affordable than cigarettes.

All of this makes vaping more attractive to young people and creates the wrong impression that they’re relatively harmless.¹³

What are the harms of vaping for young people?

For young people, starting vaping early can be risky.

For non-smokers, vaping may worsen asthma, bronchitis, and cough.

Vaping has had reported side effects like nausea, vomiting, chest pain, and mouth and airway irritation.^{14, 15}

And, nicotine exposure during teenage years can harm brain development and impact learning, memory, and attention.¹⁵

The fact is, we’re yet to understand the full impact of vaping.

The research into the long-term health effects is in its early stages and limited. The rising popularity of vaping is moving much faster than the time required to conduct good research.¹⁶

We didn’t know the long-term effects of smoking cigarettes for decades. So, conclusions about vaping can’t be made without quality long-term research.

What we do know is that vaping any substance carries risk.

• Nicotine-free e-liquids still contain a mix of unregulated chemicals and additives that could cause harm.
• ‘Nicotine-free’ labelled e-liquids can still carry nicotine.

Both nicotine and nicotine-free e-liquids also contain other chemicals, additives, and flavourings that are potentially harmful, such as chemicals found in common paint, cleaning, and disinfectant products, and certain cancer-causing agents.^17-19

We know that disengagement from school can be a risk factor for health and social harms. This can impact a young person’s mental health, substance use, social support and more. This is important to consider if the response to vaping in schools is expulsion or suspension.²⁰

What about nicotine e-cigarettes and e-liquid?

Nicotine on its own is still a toxic substance and regular vaping can lead to dependence for young people.²¹ There’s also a risk that vaping re-normalises the use of nicotine,²² after rates of smoking have been steadily going down over the last few decades.

There’s some concern that modified vapes can deliver more nicotine than cigarettes.²

Replacing smoking cigarettes with vaping may be less harmful because of the chemicals and cancer-causing agents found in tobacco. However, we still don’t know this for sure, because of the limited research available.^{13, 23, 24}

Recent outbreaks of lung disease and deaths related to vaping in the United States point to a potential link between vaping and harm to lungs.²⁵

More information

The Lung Foundation: Vaping and Young People – Parents and Carers

Quit: E-cigarettes and teens - what you need to know

Headspace: 1800 650 890

Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800