The number of vape users is increasing whilst the population of cigarette smokers continue to decrease in the age group of 18 to 24 year-olds, according to a study by the Australian Drug and Alcohol Foundation.
As of 2019, 20% of non-smokers, and 64% of smokers have tried vaping. This is a rise from 13.6%, and 49% respectively in 2016.
Dr Michelle Jongenelis, an expert in clinical and behavioural psychology at Melbourne University, said this rise can be attributed to the accessibility and cheap cost of vapes.
“The products are highly accessible, it is not that hard to get your hands on a vape. It is significantly harder to get your hands on tobacco.”
“They aren’t that expensive. Cigarettes cost $50 and adolescents can’t really afford that. Whereas you can get a vaping device for $10 to $15, which can get you three to five hundred puffs,” she said.
19-year-old vape user, Daniel Catania, said that this cost difference is a big incentive for choosing to vape.
“Absolutely, the low cost is why I choose to vape. Smoking is so expensive these days, which makes it pretty offputting,” he said.
Mr Catania also said that the perception of vaping as less dangerous than smoking made it easier for him to buy a vape than cigarettes.
The Australian Lung Foundation warns that advertised non-nicotine vapes often do contain traces of nicotine, and users can risk inhaling toxic chemicals from non-prescribed e-cigarettes.
Dr Jongenelis said that these stereotypes have been crafted by vape companies in their pitch to distance themselves from smoking.
“The industry has done a really good job at making it seem like these products aren’t harmful and acting as if only the nicotine products are dangerous. We actually know that non-nicotine products are also very harmful”
“You’ve got adolescents who don’t realise what they are consuming is quite dangerous. They think that because they aren’t smoking tobacco cigarettes then it’s not harmful when that’s not the case at all,” she said.
On September 8, vape company Juul was fined $440 million in The United States after being found guilty of marketing to underage children through social media campaigns and events.
Dr Jongenelis said the youth-centric marketing of companies like Juul has made vaping stylistic and appealing to young people.
“We are definitely concerned that e-cigarette use is becoming more normative in adolescents.”
“They are using all the techniques they know are going to get young people interested,” she said.
Mr Catania agrees that vapes are generally seen positively in his age group.
“I think our generation sees the different flavours, coloured packaging and have become hooked.”
“[Peer Pressure] plays a massive part. People don’t necessarily feel comfortable doing these things initially, but when we try these things out, it can quickly become a habit,” he said.
According to a study from The University of Otago in New Zealand, of the young adults in New Zealand who have tried an e-cigarette, 74% tried it out of curiosity, and 67% got their first vape from a friend.
Nicotine vapes are illegal to sell in Australia without a prescription, however, Dr Jongenelis said more needs to be done to stop them from being sold illegally at local stores.
“We need to restrict the sale of vapes across the country, when you go to [convenience stores] they are openly selling these vapes illegally and nothing is being done about it. They are getting away with it because they are claiming there is no nicotine, when we know they often do contain nicotine,” she said.
If you are struggling with nicotine addiction, please contact Quitline: 13 78 48 or www.quit.org
