Teen urges others not to try vaping, ahead of Federal Government crackdown on black market

Dec 09, 2023

At 15, Angus should be enjoying the Easter school holidays.

Instead, he is battling withdrawal symptoms as he tries to quit a vaping habit that has taken over his young life.

What started as an experiment in year 7 has turned into an intense nicotine addiction, which at its recent peak, saw him vaping most of his waking hours.

He used to go through a disposable vape of 3,500 puffs every week.

Now, determined to give up, he's wearing nicotine patches and undergoing counselling to try to kick the habit once and for all, but is struggling with anxiety and mood swings.

He wants to share the impact that vaping has had on him physically and mentally to deter other young people from picking up the habit.

"You are living off this thing that just kind of dispenses happiness into your lungs, that's how it feels," he said.

"I enjoyed it but I noticed that I started to get a cough. It tasted kind of fruity, like the vape flavours, and that was a pretty big warning sign to me that it was gathering in my lungs."

His vape of choice came in a small, colourful container with bright cartoons on it in a mango or apple flavour.

According to the manufacturer's website, it contains 5 per cent nicotine.

The growing use of e-cigarettes, or vaping, in Australia poses a "serious public health risk" and threatens to introduce a new generation to smoking, according to the authors of a major new government report.

It is not just the physical impact of vapes that Angus is concerned about.

He is also worried about the mental hold vaping has over him.

"You can't survive without it, you can't function normally without it," he said.

"It makes you feel included, I think that's kind of bad because it makes you feel that if you are vaping, you are like these other people, you are cool like these people and you can fit in with these people.

"You feel like you need it to fit in … that's how it feels mentally but it's really not true."

As the Federal Government deliberates on how to clamp down on the burgeoning black market in disposable vapes being sold to Australian children, Angus has his own ideas on how they could do that.

He said it should start with tougher border controls on the vapes being imported into Australia and increased surveillance of the shops selling them to children.

Plain packaging, with health warnings and far fewer flavours would make them less attractive to his age group, he said.

"Limit it to a few flavours like menthol, mint and then maybe just apple or something. And then have one that's tobacco-flavoured I guess," he said.

"Not like all these fruits and lollies."

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Currently nicotine vapes are illegal around the country unless the buyer has a prescription from a GP to use them as a tool to give up smoking cigarettes.

But Angus said vapes are easily available both online and over the counter to people his age.

"Corner stores all around, tobacco stores even, just some delis," he said.

A new study by the George Institute for Global Health has found 14 per cent of 15-30-year-olds in Australia are vaping.

Its prevalence among young people has prompted the Federal Government to warn of big changes ahead to stamp out the trade, accusing the industry of shamelessly marketing to young children.

While sneaky marketing tactics by the e-cigarette industry are seeing more young Australians becoming addicted to vaping, there are things parents can do to make a difference.

Last month, the Therapeutic Goods Administration released the results of a review into vaping, saying that all the state and territory governments supported tighter import controls and there was strong support for pharmaceutical-like packaging and banning flavours.

Federal Health Minister, Mark Butler, says vaping is now the number one behavioural issue in primary schools.

It has caused thousands of suspensions from schools around the country.

Angus was not suspended in connection with vaping but has recently moved schools.

He said vaping was extremely common at his previous school in Perth's south.

"Even in class, they would just hide it in their sleeves and just do that and have a puff and lift their jumper out and blow it down into it, all that sort of stuff," he said.

Angus's mother has given her support for her son to use his voice to help others learn about the risks of vaping.

The 15-year-old wants to warn other young people not to give into the enormous peer pressure around vaping, which he says is "everywhere" on social media.

"I guess some people feel like they need to do it … to have friendships, all that sort of stuff, " he said.

"Don't even try it. If you're on it, give it up.

"It's not at all worth it, the harm it can do to you and the people around you, it's not worth it, not at all."

After first trying vapes in year 7, Angus tried cigarettes in year 9 but during last year it was vaping that became entrenched in his life.

"It's a really bad thing to have to see some of your family, looking at it from mum's perspective, the way she felt about seeing me go down this rabbit hole … " he said.

A body representing hundreds of P&C groups around Western Australia is calling on the state government to do more to support schools that are trying to deal with the problem.

More resources and education were needed in schools to deal with the issue, according to the Western Australian Council of State School Organisations (WACSSO).

Senior vice president Julie Brooks was part of a delegation that met the state's education minister, Tony Buti, earlier this month.

"Our main message was that we would like a joint approach from government to address the vaping crisis affecting our youth," Ms Brooks said.

"And services — there are no age-appropriate services for families dealing with nicotine addiction due to vaping.

"Schools are doing the best they can but we need further resources for schools to deal with this.

"We are hearing stories of some schools closing their bathrooms completely or closing sections of bathrooms to stop children from vaping there.

"We need a plan across all schools on how this is going to be managed."

With the vaping industry facing a national overhaul, not everyone agrees prescriptions are the way to go.

Dr Colin Mendelsohn is an advocate of vaping as a means to help adult smokers quit cigarettes.

He agrees that flavour names, images and packaging which appeal to young people should be banned but says plain packaging would be "overkill" and reducing flavours could have negative consequences for ex-smokers.

"Flavours are an integral part of vaping and play a key role in encouraging smokers to try it," he said.

"Flavours have been shown to increase quit rates, increase enjoyment and prevent relapse to smoking."

Dr Mendelsohn also supports substantially increased fines and loss of licences for the illegal sale of vapes to children and adolescents and for advertising to be restricted and regulated.

But, notably, he believes the only way to eliminate the black market is to get rid of the prescription-only system so that vapes can be sold to adults.

"The only way to eliminate a black market is to replace it with a legal, regulated one. Prohibition does not work," he said.

Dr Mendelsohn cited the United Kingdom's model of a tightly regulated consumer market as "working well".

The UK recently announced it would give vapes to smokers to help them quit.

But, at the same time, it is having to set up an "enforcement squad" to prevent the illegal sale of e-cigarettes to children, with figures showing 9 per cent of teens aged 11-15 in Britain were using e-cigarettes in 2021, up from 6 per cent three years earlier.

Dr Mendelsohn's stance places him at odds with many mainstream health organisations and public health experts, including Professor Simone Pettigrew of the George Institute for Global Health, whose recent research has focused on vaping among young people and adolescents.

Professor Pettigrew says Australia needs to stick with the prescription-only model and further crack down on both the availability and advertising of vapes.

"The industry is phenomenally good at marketing these products and making them very attractive to young people," Professor Pettigrew said.

"So the task ahead is to better monitor and ensure compliance with our existing regulations and part of that process will be doing things along the lines that the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has recommended ..."

She said this should include ensuring permits were essential for anyone selling e-cigarettes and prohibiting the use of flavours and packaging that make them attractive to children.

In the meantime, a spokesperson for WA's Education Minister said targeted anti-vaping programs were being provided across primary and secondary schools.

"The materials are designed to be clear about the health risks of vaping and are available for students, teachers and parents," the statement said.

"They help teachers and parents have informed conversations with students about e-cigarettes and the harm they can bring.

"Schools work closely with families to address this behaviour and apply a balance of education, support and consequences as deemed appropriate."

Call Quitline (13 7848) for free advice. Quitline counsellors can answer any questions you may have about e-cigarettes and can help you think of ways to approach the conversation.

If your teenager or young person wants help to quit vaping, they can have a confidential, live chat with a Quitline counsellor at quit.org.au.