Victorian school crackdown as children call Quitline to stop vaping addiction

The new education program comes as kids as young as eight are being offered e-cigarettes, with vaping rates “increasing rapidly over just a very short period.”

Vaping levels among children and teenagers in Victoria are reaching worrying new heights.  

A shocking report has found Victorian kids as young as eight being offered e-cigarettes, and 10-year-olds are calling Quitline in fits of tears. 

These distressing new figures come as a new education program is launched to help curb vaping among school children from Years 7 to 10. 

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RELATED: 'We're so addicted to vaping we take puffs in the classroom'

There has been a worrying increase in kids picking up vaping. Source: iStock

One in three Victorian teens have tried vaping

Dr Sandro Demaio, VicHealth's chief executive, explained that the program is intended to prevent young kids from vaping. 

However, he has warned the kids already addicted to vaping are at a “critical” level.

He explained that one in three Victorian teenagers have tried e-cigarettes before, numbers which have “increased rapidly over just a very short period.” 

Despite 30 per cent of teens already vaping, he said only half knew how dangerous and addictive they are. 

This is due, in part, to the industry “finding ways to get very, very young people, even younger than 10, addicted to these products.” 

“You can’t tell me that the unicorn on the packet and the pink colouring and the Fruit Loops flavouring is for the 65-year-old truckie trying to get off cigarettes,” he said. 

RELATED: Students are so addicted they will hit the vape in the middle of English class

Victorian students as young as eight are being offered e-cigarettes. Source: iStock

“This is one of the biggest health issues of our time”

The new vaping program introduced by VicHealth aims to help prevent young Victorians from adopting a vaping habit and support those who face addiction. 

“This is one of the biggest health issues of our time,” Dr Demaio said. 

In addition to working with kids from Years 7 to 10, VicHealth will also introduce measures to prevent vaping addiction for children in Grades 5 and 6. 

This comes as the vaping crisis continues to take hold of Australian children. 

In September, Kidspot  reported Queensland students, some as young as 10, are addicted to e-cigarettes, hitting the vape while they’re in class. Teachers and students across the state have reported a steady increase in vaping across playgrounds, bathrooms and classrooms. 

One Year 8 teacher noticed the trend rapidly increasing, and kids are being less subtle about their addiction. 

“Cigarettes have always been around, but once upon a time, kids had to at least hide it and sneak away for it,” they said. “Now they just blatantly get the hit whenever they want, even in the middle of English class.” 

One school in Queensland has taken matters into its own hands, allowing some students to vape in an effort to reduce stress and disruptive behaviour in the classroom. 

But Cancer Council’s head of prevention and adjunct associate professor Craig Sinclair said vaping does more harm than good for kids, not just for their physical health, but their ability to concentrate in class. 

“It’s affecting the teenager’s brain at a time when it is continuing to grow and form,” he said. 

Originally published as Victorian school crackdown as children call Quitline to stop vaping addiction