More than a third of young adults are using e-cigarettes and almost three-quarters of parents suspect their child is vaping, a new study has found.
Young people can easily access vapes and availability is leading to a perception that products are not harmful, according to public health experts.
On Wednesday the Cancer Council published the latest data from its ongoing national Generation Vape study, which tracks teenagers’ knowledge, attitudes and behaviours regarding vapes. The most recent survey included 1,700 teenagers aged between 14 and 17 and 6,500 young adults aged between 18 and 24.
It found more than a third (36%) of young adults were e-cigarette users, while almost three-quarters (73%) of young adults who had vaped before did so knowing the vapes contained nicotine.
Of the teenagers surveyed, more than two-thirds (67%) of those who had vaped had done so knowing vapes contained nicotine.
It is illegal to buy and sell e-cigarettes or any e-liquid that contains nicotine without a doctor’s prescription, or to sell those products to children, but companies are bypassing regulations by labelling e-cigarettes “nicotine-free” despite them containing nicotine.
The study also surveyed 2,500 parents, with almost three-quarters (72%) suspecting their child used a disposable vape. Four in five (82%) said preventing their child from vaping was a high priority. Of 1,300 teachers in New South Wales, three in four (76%) reported addressing vaping as a high priority.
Alecia Brooks, co-author of the study and chair of the Cancer Council’s tobacco issues committee, said: “The single biggest thing that’s driving [vaping] use is that the product is so easily accessible.
“If a product is easy to get, it sends a signal to young people that these products are somewhat safe, because if they weren’t safe then the government would be removing them from the shelves.”
Meanwhile, one in three teenagers who had never used an e-cigarette were curious about vaping, the study also found.
An increasing number of stores are opening across Australia displaying colourful, often international lolly brands in their windows. Some stores are across the road from schools.
The health minister, Mark Butler, in May announced a ban on the import of nicotine and non-nicotine vapes and vape products, with only licensed pharmacists permitted to import and sell them to people who had a prescription from their GP.
The rules will force vape stores to close, and other retailers will have to get rid of all vape products. No start date has yet been set.
Of the young adults who vaped, one in three said they did so when they felt “stressed or anxious”.
Brooks said a growing number of young adults were vaping for this reason, but they failed to understand the nicotine addiction itself was likely contributing to those feelings.
Prof Simone Pettigrew, from the George Institute for Global Health, said the data showed that “access is a major issue”.
“Obviously, the federal government and state governments are now clamping down on that, but it just goes to show the importance of a precautionary approach. At first it was considered like a possible threat … but we didn’t go full hog straightaway in terms of trying to monitor where people were getting these [vapes] from and closing those stores down.”
Pettigrew said children whose brains were still developing formed stronger addictions to nicotine than adults who were trying an addictive substance for the first time.
“We’re … inheriting a mess now with a whole bunch of young people who are going to need some really concerted assistance to wean themselves off these products.”
