Vaping

About vapes and vaping

Vapes are battery-operated devices that heat a liquid into an aerosol. When the aerosol is inhaled, it’s called vaping.

Vaping isn’t safe. The liquid in vapes has hundreds of chemicals. Many of these chemicals are harmful to health. These chemicals include:

nicotine
flavouring chemicals
chemicals found in cleaning products, paint, nail polish remover, weed killer, bug spray and gasoline.

Vapes are also called electronic cigarettes or e-cigarettes.

Vapes often contain chemicals that aren’t listed on the pack, so there’s no way of knowing exactly what’s in vapes. For example, ‘non-nicotine’ vapes have been found to contain nicotine. And some vapes contain 50 times more nicotine than tobacco cigarettes.

Why teenagers vape

It’s natural for teenagers to try new things, push boundaries and take risks. This is part of their journey to independence. Vaping might be one of the ways that they do this.

Also, teenagers might vape because they:

want to fit in with friends, feel part of their peer group or look cool
can buy vapes easily from convenience shops, vape shops and websites, or through social media
are looking for ways to manage stress, anxiety or depression
mistakenly think that vapes might help with weight loss
like the look or design of vapes
want to taste and smell the flavours of vapes
think vaping is less dangerous than smoking tobacco cigarettes or using other drugs
have parents who smoke.

It’s common for teenagers to try vaping, especially teenagers aged 14 years and older. But younger children might try vaping too.

Harms of vaping for teenagers

Short-term harms of vaping include:

mouth and throat irritation
headaches, dizziness, nausea and dehydration
seizures
breathing problems and serious lung damage
burn injuries from overheated or exploding vapes.

Long-term harms of vaping include:

high heart rate and high blood pressure
blood vessel and heart problems
male sexual health problems, like decreased arousal or inability to orgasm
learning, memory and attention problems
mental health and behaviour problems, like anxiety, depression and impulsive and suicide-related behaviour
an increased risk of taking up tobacco smoking.

Nicotine addiction is one of the harms of vaping in both the short and long term. Your child might have nicotine addiction if they:

have strong cravings for vapes
find it hard not to vape in places where they shouldn’t vape, like school
find it hard to stop vaping entirely
develop withdrawal symptoms when they can’t or don’t vape.

Teenagers who vape can develop nicotine withdrawal if they stop vaping. Common signs of nicotine withdrawal include:

irritability, frustration and anger
nicotine cravings
anxiety
mood changes, like low mood
difficulty concentrating or sleeping
restlessness
appetite changes.

Inhaling too much nicotine or swallowing nicotine vape liquid can cause nicotine poisoning. If you think your child has been poisoned by nicotine, immediately call the Poisons Information Centre on 131 126. If your child shows signs of nicotine poisoning like vomiting, fast breathing, tremors, or increased sweating and heart rate, call an ambulance – phone 000.

Signs that teenagers might be vaping

Your child might be vaping if they:

have physical symptoms like a sore throat, coughing, breathing difficulty, chest pain, vomiting or headaches
show signs of nicotine addiction or withdrawal
smell like fruit or candy
have new or unusual devices that look like highlighters, pens, USB drives or small boxes.

If you think your child might be vaping, it’s important to talk with your child.

Talking with teenagers about vaping

Talking with your child about vaping might be a difficult conversation. But it’s important for your child’s long-term physical and mental health that you get the conversation going.

You can help this conversation go well by:

planning what to say
finding a comfortable and relaxing environment to talk
encouraging your child to talk and actively listening to what they say
staying calm and avoiding lecturing, criticising or making value judgements.

It might help to find out why your child is vaping. When you know why, it can help you work out how to help your child to stop vaping. For example, if your child is vaping because their friends vape, you can talk with your child about managing peer pressure. Or if your child is vaping to manage stress or decrease appetite, you can talk about healthy stress management or healthy eating habits.

During the conversation, you can ask your child what they know about the effects of vaping. This gives you the opportunity to explain why vaping is harmful and unsafe.

You can also talk with your child about professional support to stop vaping.

It’s important to ask whether your child has tried to stop vaping or is vaping now because they find it hard to stop. This can help you work out whether your child has a nicotine addiction and needs professional help.

What to do when teenagers are vaping

Your child might not be ready to admit that their vaping is a serious issue. They might not want your help. If your child isn’t ready or interested, avoid forcing the issue. Young people need to make their own decisions to cut down or stop vaping.

But if your child has a problem with vaping, there are things you can try, if they’re right for your family:

Role-model healthy behaviour by not vaping or smoking tobacco yourself.
Monitor your child’s use of and exposure to vapes.
Renegotiate your family rules about safe behaviour, including alcohol and other drugs.
Ask your child if they’d like help managing how they spend their money.
Talk with your child regularly about what might help them to stop vaping.
Help your child find professional support to stop vaping if they need it.

Professional support for teenagers who are vaping

If your child needs help to stop vaping or has a nicotine addiction, take your child to see your GP. Your GP will talk with your child about strategies to stop vaping and might suggest nicotine replacement therapy.

You can encourage your child to call Quitline on 137 848 for confidential counselling support. If needed, your child can ask to speak with an Aboriginal counsellor for culturally safe support. Or if your child speaks a language other than English, they can ask for an interpreter.

Your child can also call the Alcohol and Drug Foundation on 1300 858 584 for information, advice and referral to counselling services in your state or territory.

Vaping and Australian law

It’s against Australian law for anyone to buy nicotine vapes without a doctor’s prescription. It’s also against the law to sell nicotine vapes to children under 18 years and adults without a doctor’s prescription.

In most Australian states and territories, it’s still legal for adults to buy non-nicotine vapes.

Despite Australian law, false labelling means vapes bought legally without a prescription might still contain nicotine.