Editorial: Risk of vaping needs answers as Qld launches probe

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is quite correct to call an inquiry into something thousands of young Queenslanders are increasingly enamoured with, writes the editor.

Suddenly, vaping is everywhere.

Plumes of mist accompany teenagers and young adults as they stroll down a street or relax in a park, yet the old-fashioned cigarette is nowhere to be seen.

The electronic cigarette is, increasingly, highly fashionable, even if its lineage stems back nearly a century when the first patent was granted on the invention in 1930.

As today’s Sunday Mail reveals, the state government is going to have a close look at what exactly is being inhaled.

This newspaper is all for freedom of choice.

But knowledge is a critical power in any choice made.

As an emerging trend it is also prudent to be fully cognisant of the risks associated with vaping – particularly to young Queenslanders.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has taken a personal interest in the matter, with a sharp focus on the impact on teenagers.

She is quite correct to call this inquiry into something that thousands of young Queenslanders are increasingly enamoured with.

The most crucial question that the inquiry will, hopefully, get to the bottom of is this: What exactly are these kids inhaling?

We know vapes are marketed to young people, with liberal use of lolly-like descriptors to identify flavours and discounts for cash purchases.

In some instances the products are marketed as nicotine-free, but it is not the case.

The American Lung Association, founded at the start of the 20th century to fight tuberculosis, has warned the substance filling the cartridges usually contains nicotine and products found in paint solvent.

Vaping is so common in Queensland schools that detectors have been installed in bathrooms to combat it.

Kids as young as 10 are now being caught with e-cigarettes and more than 40 drug-related disciplines a day were dished out at Queensland state schools last year after a crackdown on vaping.

And there is also this to consider – one of the inspiring public health stories in Australia over the past two decades has been the decrease in tobacco smoking.

Statistics show that smoking rates for Australians aged 18 and over dropped from 20 per cent in 2001 to 12 per cent in 2019.

What is worrying the Premier is that, while fewer people are smoking, an increasing number of people are vaping.

There is also a fear that vaping may be a stepping stone to smoking over the longer term.

As Ms Palaszczuk says, if vaping is a gateway to smoking, we need to ensure that Queenslanders, especially young Queenslanders, are aware of the health risks.

GET A GAUGE ON REALITY

Just over a decade after the summer of disaster, the Local Government Association of Queensland is pleading for help in fixing the state’s ageing flood warning system.

Councils are uniting in a plea to the federal government to chip in $211m over four years to resurrect and upgrade the state’s flood gauges, river height stations and rainfall stations, as well as purchase hundreds more.

These flood measures are critical to the welfare of the state, because we know full well how badly things can go when we don’t have them.

It’s not hard to remember 2011.

The state government has, commendably, already committed to meet half the funding required for this important flood mitigation initiative being pursued by the LGAQ.

It’s now up to Canberra to step up to the plate and provide the funds.

Responsibility for election comment is taken by Anna Caldwell, corner of Mayne Rd & Campbell St, Bowen Hills, Qld 4006. Printed and published by NEWSQUEENSLAND (ACN 009 661 778). Contact details here

Originally published as Editorial: Risk of vaping needs answers as Qld launches probe