‘Disturbing’: Shocking video of Adelaide teenager pressuring 4yo girl to vape

The clip comes as experts say the number one behavioural issue in Australia's primary schools is vaping.

Staff writers

2 min read

July 4, 2023 - 9:09AM

Parenting

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Police are investigating a horrifying video of a four-year-old being forced to inhale a vape.

The video shows the child being grabbed by a teenager, who told the child to “suck” the e-cigarette.

She inhales the vapour and blows it out before struggling to breathe.

The 4yo was told to "suck" the vape in the video. Source: Supplied

Teenager forced 4yo to vape

The video was reportedly recorded in Adelaide’s northern suburbs and uploaded to social media.

It is unknown if the teen boy and the girl know each other.

South Australia Police have reported the 16-year-old and charged him with supplying tobacco products to a minor.

“The matter will be dealt with by the Juvenile Justice System,” said a police spokesperson. “Police have advised the Department for Child Protection on the matter, and the investigation remains ongoing.”

Commissioner of South Australia Police, Grant Stevens, said the video footage was “certainly disturbing behaviour”.

A teen mum filmed their 11mo son vaping. Source: news.com.au

Vaping is the biggest behavioural issue in Australian primary schools

This isn’t the first time a child has been caught on camera vaping.

A 16–year-old mum from NSW was scrutinised after filming her 11-month-old baby sucking on a vape.

The video showed the mum asking her baby if they “want to try it” before inhaling the vapour.

The baby began coughing and spluttering, all while the family laughed in the background.

According to Health Minister Mark Butler, vaping is the biggest behavioural issue in primary schools across Australia.

“The Victorian poisons hotline has reported that in the last 12 months, more than 50 children under the age of four have had to be reported to the hotline because of the dangerous ingestion of nicotine,” he told ABC Radio.

“Four. This is now the biggest behavioural issue in primary schools.”

He added that products with “pink unicorns on them, bubblegum flavour and such” were causing “very real harm to our children.”

“This is an industry shamelessly marketing, not just to teenagers but to young children. When you look at these things, pink unicorns and bubblegum flavours aren’t marketed to adults,” he said.

“This is an industry that is trying to create a new generation of nicotine addicts so they get around all of the hard work our country and other countries have done over recent decades to stamp out smoking.”