Number of young people vaping doubles in a year as smoking rates drop

The number of people who smoke cigarettes in NSW has dropped to record levels, although experts have warned rising rates of vaping among under-25s could undo decades of work to reduce smoking rates.

Eleven per cent of people aged 16 to 24 reported being a current user of e-cigarettes, or “vapes”, more than double the number in 2020, data from the NSW Population Health Survey, published today, showed.

Those aged 18 to 24 years are the most prevalent users of vaping devices.Credit: iStockphoto

In the same period, daily rates of smoking cigarettes among all people aged 16 and over decreased from 9.2 per cent to 8.2 per cent.

Anita Dessaix, chair of the Cancer Council’s public health committee, said she was concerned e-cigarettes were making smoking a habit for the next generation.

“The biggest increase in vaping we are seeing is in that 16- to 24-year-old age group. E-cigarettes were being positioned as a way for people who were already smoking to quit, but there hasn’t been a great increase in uptake among the middle-aged,” she said.

“It does feel like the genie is starting to get out of the bottle with vaping, and we are not going to be able to get on top of the trend with the level of addiction and the sheer quantum of product available.”

A recent ANU review of international vaping research found young non-smokers who vape were around three times more likely to take up smoking than those who did not vape.

NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant agreed the uptick in vaping could undermine decades of tobacco control in Australia.

“There’s strong evidence of a smoking ‘gateway effect’,” she said.

The Cancer Council’s NSW Smoking & Health Survey 2021, also released today, found 23 per cent of people who had vaped did so to help them quit or cut down on cigarettes. More common reasons given for vaping were curiosity (36 per cent) and to socialise or because someone offered it (28 per cent).

The survey only interviewed people aged 18 and over, meaning the results did not include contributions from younger vape users. Health authorities are concerned by rising rates of vaping among high school students.

Under 40s were significantly more likely to report using disposable vapes compared to people in their 50s and 60s (50 per cent compared to 32 per cent). Dessaix said this was likely due to the types of vapes sold at convenience stores, where younger people are more likely to purchase.

“What is available and what is easily accessible are those bright, colourful, fruit or candy flavoured vapes. If you’re at school, they can look like a highlighter and be hidden in pencil cases,” she said.

Across all adult vape users, the most common place to buy e-cigarettes was the internet (17 per cent of users), with more than half of those users buying from overseas websites. The number of people buying vaping products at convenience stores has increased five-fold since 2019 to 5 per cent of users.

A 2020 study of 52 e-liquids by Curtin University and the Telethon Kids Institute found all contained at least one chemical that had unknown effects on respiratory health, with some using up to 18 chemicals in this category.

“Vapes can contain many harmful chemicals and toxins, even if they are nicotine free. We know vapes can harm your health in the short term, but the long-term effects are largely unknown,” Chant said, adding her message to young people who vape or smoke cigarettes was to quit today.

About 23 per cent of NSW residents now consider themselves a “former smoker” of cigarettes, a figure which can be extrapolated to about 1.5 million people.

The Cancer Council’s survey showed 41 per cent of people in NSW who smoke were thinking about quitting in the next six months.

“Quitting smoking is one of the most important things you can do for your health. It will reduce your risk of sixteen different types of cancer, coronary heart disease, stroke and other debilitating conditions,” Chant said.

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