Ballarat's Gretel Johns has worked as a nurse for more than two decades, including in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
Having seen the devastating impact smoking cigarettes has on human health, Ms Johns has urged the Victorian government to help stop another "disaster", and increase education about vaping and e-cigarettes in schools.
A vape, or e-cigarette, is a battery-operated device that heats up a liquid (sometimes containing nicotine), creating a vapour that is then inhaled.
"Lung damage (from vaping) is evidenced in chest X-rays and studies overseas. There seem to be some cases of what we call EVALI, or E-cigarette or Vaping product use-Associated Lung Injury, within Australia," Ms Johns said.
In 2020, a Sydney teenager wound up in the ICU with what doctors suspect was a case of EVALI.
While the safety risks and long-term impacts of vaping are still being explored by researchers, it's clear the product's popularity remains strong with almost one-in-10 Australians over the age of 18 trying the product at least once.
Ms Johns said improving community awareness could start on-campus, and extend to parents.
The mother-of-four has called on the state government to introduce targeted education resources at schools, such as information sessions, in the same vein as drug and alcohol education.
"Certainly I think the Education Department, while it always falls on them, they're the ones who have access to the kids, and they've got a captive audience in the parents," she said.
"Knowledge is everything. If you've got information on any topic, it empowers people to make the right decisions."
In a statement to the ABC, a Victorian government spokesperson said it was "currently exploring options ... for improving the awareness within our community of the potential health impacts from vaping".
Push for more regulation
In Victoria, the sale, advertising and use of all e-cigarette and vaping products is regulated in the same way as tobacco, with under-18s banned from buying them.
But Ms Johns said further regulation of the products — including rigorous labelling of ingredients — is "key", as "we don't know what is in the majority of products our kids are getting their hands on".
The state government spokesperson said it had "been pushing for a national approach to strengthening the regulation of e-cigarettes for several years and will continue to do so."
