In the articles below, Croakey provides an overview of vaping reforms announced today, and medical student Liv Dumville investigates how and why vaping has become so entrenched amongst young people.
Vaping reforms
Health and medical groups have welcomed national vaping reforms due to roll out from 1 January next year, from when the importation of disposable single use vapes will be banned.
In parallel with the ban – which is subject to approval of legislative and administrative arrangements – all medical practitioners and nurse practitioners will be able to prescribe the use of vapes, where clinically appropriate, from 1 January under a new Special Access Scheme pathway.
In a statement today, Minister Butler said from 1 March 2024, further changes are expected to include:
- cessation of the personal importation of vapes
- ban on the importation of non-therapeutic vapes
- requirement for therapeutic vape importers and manufacturers to notify the Therapeutic Goods Administration of their product’s compliance with the relevant product standards
- requirement for importers to obtain a licence and permit from the Australian Government’s Office of Drug Control before the products are imported.
During 2024, product standards for therapeutic vapes will also be strengthened, including to limit flavours, reduce permissible nicotine concentrations and require pharmaceutical packaging. A transition period will be allowed for businesses to comply with the new requirements.
The Government will introduce legislation in 2024 to prevent domestic manufacture, advertisement, supply and commercial possession of non-therapeutic and disposable single use vapes to ensure comprehensive controls on vapes across all levels of the supply chain.
Minister Butler said the vaping reforms were the focus of a joint meeting of all Australian Health and Police Ministers last week, where Ministers agreed to task officials with developing a national enforcement framework for vaping products – to stamp out unlawful vapes in the community and prevent illegal markets from emerging.
A multi-agency National Vaping Working Group will be established to oversee development and implementation of the national enforcement framework.
Butler said he expects these reforms will tackle the rising use of vapes by young Australians. The latest data, from the first quarter of 2023, shows that about one in seven 14- to 17-year-olds and one in five 18- to 24-year-olds are current vapers.
There is strong and consistent evidence that young Australians who vape are around three times more likely to take up tobacco smoking compared to young Australians who have never vaped, Butler said.
To introduce and enforce these reforms, the Government will provide an additional $25 million to Australian Border Force and $56.9 million to the Therapeutic Goods Administration over two years, and the Government is expanding and strengthening vaping and smoking cessation support services.
The Lung Foundation Australia, Australian Medical Association, Public Health Association of Australia, Heart Foundation and VicHealth are among groups welcoming the reforms.
Lung Foundation Australia CEO Mark Brooke said the reforms were “a win for our young people who are being assailed by insidious marketing of these addictive devices wherever they turn”.
“Getting this poison out of our school yards and off corner store shelves is a no-brainer,” he said in a statement. “The focus now must be on educating and leading with empathy as we help people overcome vape and nicotine addiction without stigma. With the right support people can overcome vaping dependencies and take steps to look after their health and wellbeing.”
In the article below, medical student Liv Dumville explores how vaping has infiltrated her social networks.
Liv Dumville writes:
If I told you that I was a social young woman in my mid-20’s, and asked you to guess the three most likely items in my bag at any time, what would you say?
If I asked that question of a peer, the likely guess would probably include a phone, wallet and – a surprising guess, maybe – a vape.
Vaping amongst adolescents and young adults isn’t a rarity – ask any young person and they will describe witnessing, or partaking in vaping in nearly any context you could imagine.
I first became conscious that vaping was a real public health crisis for young people about a year or two ago. Up until that point, I had only seen peers vape infrequently on a night out, akin to social smoking.
On this day as a group of my friends sat studying together at home, I watched two of them arguing frantically about where they would be able to buy a vape at this point in the day, as it was beginning to approach the evening.
When I proposed waiting to buy the vape tomorrow, the suggestion was quickly and sharply dismissed. Instead, my friends decided to drive a collective hour to purchase and return with their new prized possessions. It didn’t take me long to notice how much tension and angst was relieved upon their return, vapes safely tucked into their jackets.
From this point forward I noticed as peers would turn back to their house if they’d left their vape at home or reschedule their day around purchasing a new one.
I’ve watched as friends who would “never” smoke tobacco rejoice as they tidy their house and find six, seven, eight vapes tucked away in various places. I’ve seen people search for old vapes in the backseat of their car or the floor of their bedroom to “just check” if a vape has any liquid left.
While I have never vaped, and have no intention to do so, I recognise it is something that I will continue to observe amongst my peers.
As a medical student, I spend much of my time clerking very unwell patients, many with chronic and debilitating respiratory conditions inflicted by a lifetime of smoking.
It worries me deeply that in a few decades time, I may find my friends succumbing to the same fate.
Why are young people vaping?
From what I can understand from friends and peers, the desire and drive to vape falls into three main categories – social status, boredom, and nicotine dependency.
Most of the time, vaping starts socially. Someone will pull out a vape at a house party or a bar and offer it up, somewhat expectantly.
The limited regulation on vape use inside of venues is a critical factor. It encourages people to vape and increases opportunity for social pressure to ensue.
It then becomes hard to justify saying no when a vape is offered the next time – it tastes good, causes a dopamine hit and, if you’ve vaped once before, what difference is a second or third time really going to make?
From there, after associating vaping with positive social experiences and enjoyment, it is a natural step to purchase a vape to use and share in future social settings.
Whilst more difficult to purchase than cigarettes, vapes are still a widely accessible product when you know where to look. And once you have a vape, it becomes very easy for use to trickle into everyday life.
Most of my friends say their drive to vape significantly increases when they keep it on their person during the day, even with no social pressure or pre-existing nicotine addiction. The pure ease of access of the product allows vapes to be used as a tool to curb boredom and give one’s hands and mind something to do subconsciously.
There finally becomes a point where the act of vaping crosses the border from social use to use driven by nicotine dependency.
Whilst I know some people who have started vaping to limit their tobacco use, most have found their nicotine dependency originate in a similar way to what I have described.
Stopping vaping?
I don’t know exactly what it will take to decrease current vaping rates and reduce further uptake. My generation faces a set of challenges that are unique to those in an age of over-saturated media and dependence on the internet.
With billions of pieces of information at the tips of our fingers – just a Google away – it could be argued that our generation has the capacity to make the most informed decisions to date. However, it’s a bit more complex than that.
We know that smoking tobacco is bad for you – this is messaging we have received our entire lives, supported by decades of research.
However, the lack of long-term data on vaping impacts enables young people to ignore associated health concerns.
Additionally, we have also reached a point where vaping has been normalised and is socially acceptable in most contexts.
Even with better regulation, enforcing a tax on vape products, and cracking down on the vape “black market”, whilst vaping remains a prevalent social activity, I feel it’s unlikely there will be significant reductions in its use.
Most vapes sold in Australia contain nicotine, and it is undeniable that once addicted, it takes a concerted and often multi-attempt effort to quit its use.
Amongst people who do not perceive smoking and vaping to have the same harms or potential for nicotine addiction, there may be some degree of reluctance associated with seeking help via a traditional addiction program.
Developing and promoting a vape-specific “quit” program, targeted at young people over social media, may encourage users to acknowledge and address their addiction.
When I think back to my friends, throwing their plans of study into disarray to purchase a vape, I wonder whether there are any factors that might have changed this event, whether that be better availability of data, or even a simple conversation.
Whilst it may have not, even in writing this article, I have felt an openness and willingness for reflection from my friends as we discussed why they vape.
In the absence of better data and regulation, it is my hope that peers my age who vape at least make themselves aware of its potential harms and choose to make informed decisions about their health.
• Liv Dumville is a postgraduate medical student at the University of Melbourne with a long-standing passion for public health. She currently has particular interests in obstetrics, paediatrics and anaesthesia and hopes to specialise in and advocate for patients in one of these areas through a public health lens after graduating. The article above was written before the news today about further vaping reforms.
For more information
VicHealth: Everything we know so far about vaping
NSW Health: FAQs on vaping
Lung Foundation of Australia: Resources on vaping and e-cigarettes
From X/Twitter
See Croakey’s archive of articles on vaping
