Vaping: this big, ugly business is targeting our nation’s young

Unregulated: vapes can contain many different chemicals

Australia, we have a problem. It needs to be tackled with an advertising blitz as terrifying and effective as the grim reaper campaign or the sponge with the filthy tar being wrung out. The problem is vaping. Among our school students. A situation relatively new, only a few years old, and we don’t know the exact health consequences yet but it’s looking grim. A five-year-old boy recently landed in hospital after vaping at school and poisoning himself with high doses of nicotine and other chemicals. Yes, five.

High schools across the nation are at their wits’ end. Use of vapes, or e-cigarettes, is rapidly growing among adolescents. A recent NSW Population Health survey showed twice as many people aged 16 to 24 vaped last year compared to the previous year, and the situation is accelerating among younger teens and pre-teens too. Some high schools are locking their toilets to prevent vaping during class time; others have installed vape detectors, but these are easily vandalised. And vapes can be hidden in plain sight because they look like highlighter pens.

It’s a big, ugly business that’s targeting a juicy demographic – a nation’s young. The industry is disturbingly predatory. Children are lured with false claims of harmlessness, and prettily packaged bubblegum flavours such as Cotton Candy or Strawberry Kiwi.

There’s growing concern among parents. It feels like health bodies have a lot of catching up to do, quickly. Dr Sarah White, from Quit Victoria, says contrary to a belief among many teens, vaping is not harmless. “An e-cigarette can contain many different chemicals – very few are identified, and none have been tested to show they’re safe to inhale. They’re a serious risk to respiratory health. Think reduced lung function, airway and lung irritation and increased asthma. E-cigarettes haven’t been around long enough to know what other diseases they might cause, but most experts think it’s likely they’ll result in lung and mouth cancers.”

Vapes are too easy for young people to acquire. Outlets including some tobacconists and convenience stores are illegally selling to kids; they can be bought online, too. “Nicotine-free options” have been found to contain nicotine. The Australian Council on Smoking and Health has called for a ban on the sale and promotion of e-cigarettes to our youth. Public health physician Professor Emily Banks, from ANU, recently led a review for the organisation. “Indirect evidence indicates nicotine use during childhood and adolescence can lead to problems with mood, memory, concentration and learning – and can also program the brain for lifelong issues with addiction,” she found. “A major issue is that these products are largely unregulated so most people don’t know what they’re vaping. Over 240 chemicals have been identified in e-cigarettes, and the most recent TGA [Therapeutic Goods Administration] analysis showed that 31 per cent of vaping products they tested contained prohibited substances, many of which have been shown to be harmful.”

The situation threatens to undo decades of sterling work by anti-smoking campaigners. Studies show that children who experiment with vaping are three times more likely to take up cigarettes eventually, with products heavily marketed through social media. We now need to harness the power of social media to scare the bejesus out of our kids.

“We’re receiving more and more calls, particularly from parents, about the rise of e-cigarette use among children and young people,” says Queensland Cancer Council’s James Farrell. “The regulations haven’t really caught up with the emerging product.” Big business is gambling with our children’s health, and as a parent, that feels evil.

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