Vaping’s ’toxic’ mix: deadly risks of addictive e-cigarettes laid bare

A federal government review has exposed some of the terrifying side effects of vaping, which includes seizures and death from poisoning. See the full findings.

Vaping has been revealed as extremely harmful to health and a gateway to smoking cigarettes.

There is conclusive evidence e-cigarettes cause death from poisoning, toxicity, seizures, and lung injury, and they are addictive, a federal government review has found.

There are also early warning signs of adverse effects of e-cigarettes on cardiovascular health markers, including blood pressure and heart rate, and lung functioning.

Despite being sold as a smoking cessation aide, the three-year analysis of Australian and international evidence found e-cigarettes were actually a gateway drug, leading young people to transition from vaping to cigarette smoking.

Young nonsmokers who vape are around three times as likely to take up smoking as non-vapers, the government-funded review by Australian National University academic Professor Emily Banks and others concluded.

And the report found limited evidence that nicotine e-cigarettes were effective to help people quit smoking.

Professor Emily Banks from ANU. Picture: supplied

“Most people who quit smoking successfully do so unaided,” Professor Banks said.

The report released on Thursday is the world’s first most authoritative independent scientific analysis of all the worldwide evidence on health outcomes of e-cigarettes to date.

It detailed 14 key health harms linked to e-cigarettes.

The Cancer Council’s Public Health Committee chair, Anita Dessaix said the report showed more must be done to restrict access to the products.

“These findings send a clear message to all governments: act now. Do more to protect the community, especially young people, from the harms of e-cigarettes,” Ms Dessaix said.

“Vapes deliver hundreds of chemicals – some of them known to be toxic and many others with unknown effects,” Professor Banks said.

The death of an Australian baby was linked to e-cigarettes in 2019 and last year an autopsy deemed lung injury caused by vaping was the likely cause of death of 71-year old Queensland man Peter Hansen in October 2021.

Different, but deadly – tobacco and an e-cigarette.

Last year Sydney teen Rose Hajjar posted a shock TikTok video of her in hospital with lung disease pleurisy from vapes.

Widespread illegal use of vapes by teens has seen some schools in Victoria install hi-tech sensors in toilets to stop students from vaping.

In 2020 News Corp revealed tens of thousands of illegal e-cigarette devices and liquids containing nicotine had been seized by state authorities — and many contained the substance at fatal levels.

Poisons information lines have also received dozens of calls about nicotine poisoning related to vaping devices.

Over two million Australians have used e-cigarettes and use is more common among young males, and among smokers but most people do not use them to quit smoking.

The report found more than half (53 per cent) of current e-cigarette use in Australia is by people who also smoke.

One in three people who vape were past smokers and 15.5 per cent of people who vape had never smoked.

Originally published as Vaping’s ’toxic’ mix: deadly risks of addictive e-cigarettes laid bare