Teenage vaping has ‘turned a corner' in Australia, says Mark Butler, as data shows falling rates

The Guardian

4 days ago

The federal government believes dangerous vaping rates among younger Australians may have turned a corner after years of rapid growth, with new research showing take-up could have peaked among teenagers and high school-age children.
Data released by the health minister, Mark Butler, on Wednesday showed that vaping rates fell from 17.5% at the start of 2023 to 14.6% in April this year among children aged 14-17 years.
Overall, rates for people aged over 15 reduced by more than a third, while vaping rates among the 30-59-year age group also dropped by about half.
The figures are is from the Cancer Council's latest Generation Vape research, considered the most comprehensive survey on vaping in Australia.
The report says the data follows the July 2024 vaping reforms, which were designed to curb youth access and use, and to reduce the social acceptability of vaping.
The figures come as the Therapeutic Goods Administration and Australian Border Force announced more than 10m illicit vapes had been seized since January 2024, worth a combined street value of $500m.
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The seizures are the result of interceptions at the international border, and enforcement activity by federal and state authorities tracking supply of illegal vapes.
Butler said the early positive signs came 12 months after Labor introduced major world-leading laws restricting the sale of vapes to pharmacies, requiring the presentation of ID.
People under 18 can only access vapes with a prescription from a doctor and sales at smoke shops and petrol stations are banned, regardless of their nicotine content.
Advertising for vaping products is also not allowed under the rules.
However, under-the-counter sales are common, with experts warning that unaffordable legal cigarettes and vape restrictions have caused an explosion in black market trade.
Butler said in a statement the government was resolute in enforcement of the rules and educating Australians on the health risks associated with vaping.
'Vaping rates skyrocketed in the five years before these reforms, particularly among young people,' he said.
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'Vaping rates for young Australians have now turned the corner. Our education and prevention campaigns as well as support to deter people from taking up vaping and smoking or to quit are making a difference.'
The report found some 'promising trends', including that more than 85% of young people had never vaped, and smoking levels were at their lowest in the study's history.
The report said curiosity about vaping continued to decline, with fewer than a third of young people expressing an interest in taking up vaping. It also found that social norms are shifting – some participants expressed embarrassment and shame about their habit, and said they did not want to be considered a 'vaper'.
In South Australia, school suspensions related to vaping have dropped by 50% since the new laws were introduced. In term 1 of 2023, suspensions topped 388. That number fell to 186 in term 1 of 2024 and a trend of 50% declines continued throughout terms 2 and 3.
The vaping crackdown is designed to stop younger people migrating to smoking. Tobacco use remains Australia's leading cause of preventable death and kills more than 24,000 people each year.
Butler said a major decrease in vaping and smoking rates would take time, 'but we are here for the long haul for a healthier Australia'.
It follows 2023 data analysed by Cancer Council Victoria's Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer that found an uptick in the proportion of 14-to-17-year-olds using tobacco and vaping, with the centre noting it was the first increase in teen smoking since the early to mid-1990s.