One in five vapers say they will swap to cigarettes if disposable vapes vanish

Alarming new data has revealed the shocking way vapers plan to overcome sweeping bans, as experts remain wary of the “next epidemic”.

One in five vapers would revert to smoking cigarettes if the government’s new ban makes it impossible to get their hands on black market products, a study has claimed.

A survey of 1,048 vape customers found 29 per cent of vapers would go back to smoking if sweet e-liquid flavours were unavailable, with 15 per cent sharing that they would try to buy them illegally instead.

It is unclear if those surveyed had been smokers before switching to nicotine vapes as an alternative. Many smokers say vaping has helped them cut out tobacco altogether, but authorities are concerned with teenagers developing nicotine addictions at younger ages as a result of the recent vape explosion.

According to research from John Hopkins Medicine, vaping is less harmful than smoking, but it’s “still not safe”.

“There’s almost no doubt that vaping exposes you to fewer toxic chemicals than smoking traditional cigarettes,” Dr Michael Joseph Blaha said.

However, there has been a correlation between lung injuries and deaths.

“These cases appear to predominantly affect people who modify their vaping devices or use black market modified e-liquids. This is especially true for vaping products containing THC,” Dr Blaha continued.

Experts are worried the popularity of vapes could usher in “the next smoking epidemic”, with Dr Blaha saying evidence supports the hypothesis that young people who vape are more likely to go on to use illicit drugs and tobacco products.

“I think perhaps the number one concern about vaping right now is the so-called gateway effect. Our own literature suggests that 2 million young adults use electronic cigarettes as their first nicotine-based product. They’re not trying to quit smoking — they’ve never smoked before.”

“We might be causing the next smoking epidemic through young people getting addicted to electronic cigarettes early in life.”

A survey of 1,048 vape customers found a whopping 29 per cent of vapers would go back to smoking if sweet e-liquid flavours were unavailable.

Public calls for tighter age restrictions

The vast majority of those surveyed (96 per cent) agreed that more needs to be done to enforce age verification for buying vape products, in the same way it is for cigarettes.

89 per cent said they believe that the government should ban the sale of “nicotine free” vapes to under 18’s.

Less than a quarter of those surveyed (24 per cent) believe that the colourful branding on vaping products is too appealing to children.

The long-term health effects of vaping are unclear, but health experts have warned in the short-term using e-cigarettes has been associated with nausea, vomiting, mouth and airway irritation, chest pain and heart palpitations, according to NSW Health.

“It’s alarming to see that one in five vapers might consider returning to smoking if disposable vapes were banned, and almost a third would switch back to smoking if e-liquid flavours were no longer available. This emphasises how crucial it is to have a wide range of options available for people who wish to quit smoking,” David Phillips of online merchant Vape Superstore said in a statement following the survey.

Australia will see a total import ban on non-therapeutic and disposable single-use vapes this year, alongside the crackdown on domestic manufacture, advertisement, supply and sale.

Health Minister Mark Butler unveiled a suite of new graphic warning labels for nicotine products last month, warning that Australians had become desensitised to warning labels and images that have adorned smoking packets since 2011.

Australia will see a total import ban on non-therapeutic and disposable single-use vapes this year, alongside the crackdown on domestic manufacture, advertisement, supply and sale.

“The most concerning thing over the last 10 years is the advice that the government has received is that the smoking rates, which have been declining steadily for 50 years or so, have started to plateau,” Mr Butler said.

“We are not currently on track to achieve the targets that are set out in the National Tobacco strategy, and that’s all why I am so delighted the Parliament has passed a new generation of laws to take the fight back up to big tobacco and to save more Australian lives.”

Under the major changes, cigarette and vaping manufacturers a will be given a transition period twelve months starting April 1 2024 to comply with new packaging requirements. Retailers will be given a further three months to update their stock as new warning labels are gradually rolled out.

Laws will also extend current advertising restrictions on cigarettes to vaping products, banning the use of brand names designed to popularise use such as ‘cool crush’ or ‘smooth vapes’.

“Today marks a new era as Australia returns to the forefront of the global fight against smoking,” Mr Butler continued.

“We cannot stand by and allow another generation of people to be lured into addiction and suffer the enormous health, economic and social consequences.

“The laws that passed today will save lives.”

Laws will also extend current advertising restrictions on cigarettes to vaping products, banning the use of brand names designed to popularize use such as ‘cool crush’ or ‘smooth vapes’.

Originally published as One in five vapers say they will swap to cigarettes if disposable vapes vanish