Vaping facts

Vapes are battery-powered devices that use containers of liquid, or ‘juice,’ that can contain artificial flavours and toxic chemicals. The vape heats this liquid into an aerosol, which is like a fine spray or mist, that you breathe in. The liquid usually has nicotine, flavours, and other things that can be bad for you.

Vapes can look like cigarettes, pens or even memory sticks. You might also hear them called electronic cigarettes, e-cigs, personal vaporisers, or vape pens.

The Australian Government introduced new regulations about vaping in 2024. Since then, vapes are only allowed to be sold through pharmacies, and only for the purpose of quitting smoking or managing nicotine dependence.

What’s inside vapes?

Even though vapes don’t have tobacco in them, many vape liquids have nicotine. Nicotine is very addictive. They also have other chemicals that can be harmful when you breathe them in. Some chemicals are added to make them taste like fruit or lollies, which can make them appealing to young people.

Even though vapes don’t have tobacco in them, many vape liquids have nicotine. Nicotine is very addictive. They also have other chemicals that can be harmful when you breathe them in. Some chemicals are added to make them taste like fruit or lollies, which can make them appealing to young people.

In 2022, an Australian study² looked at more than 50 flavoured vape liquids and found:

• All of them were labelled incorrectly
• All had chemicals that we don’t know how they affect your lungs
• More than 1 in 5 had nicotine, even though it was illegal in Australia at the time
• More than 3 in 5 had chemicals that could be toxic if you vaped them a lot.

What is nicotine?

Nicotine is a very addictive drug. If you use things like vapes or cigarettes with nicotine, your body and brain get used to it and start to want it more and more. That’s why it can be really hard for you to stop, even if you know it’s not good for your health.

When you take a break from vaping and other products with nicotine, you might start to feel unwell. This is called nicotine withdrawal and might make you:

• Have strong cravings for nicotine
• Feel grumpy, worried or angry
• Have trouble focusing
• Feel restless
• Get annoyed easily
• Get hungrier than usual
• Have trouble sleeping.

You can learn more about nicotine and how it affects your body and brain at the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care website.

How vaping harms your health

Vaping is not safe and can be dangerous. We don’t know all the ways it can harm you in the long term just yet. But we do know that vaping in the short term can make you:

Feel Sick

Throw up

Have a sore mouth and throat

Experience chest pain

Have a faster heartbeat.

Some people think that vaping is just breathing in harmless water vapour. But it’s actually a mix of different chemicals, which can have tiny toxic particles in them, including:

• Formaldehyde: which is used to preserve dead things and can cause irreversible lung damage
• Acrolein: which is used in weed killer and can damage your DNA
• Propylene glycol: which is used in paint and is toxic to human cells
• Nicotine: which is very addictive and can harm young brains that are still growing, especially the parts that control attention, learning, mood, and behaviour.

In 2022, the Australian National University reviewed international research³ into the harms of vaping, and found they can include:

• Addiction to nicotine
• Poisoning (on purpose or by accident)
• Seizures from too much nicotine
• Burns and injuries
• Lung damage
• Indoor air pollution
• Environmental waste and fires
• People using both vapes and cigarettes, increasing their exposure to harmful toxins.

Vaping can also increase the chance that young people will want to try cigarettes. Research suggests that young people who experiment with vapes are more likely to try smoking cigarettes later. In Australia, around half of all people aged 18 to 24 have tried vaping. We’re also seeing more young women using vapes⁴, with numbers rising from 2% to 20% between 2019 and 2023.

Resources

Lung Foundation Australia has lots of information about vapes for young people, teachers, and parents to help you understand the risks. 

Want help to stop vaping or smoking? Check out www.quit.org.au or call 137 848. They can help

References

1. Wakefield, M., Haynes, A., Tabbakh, T., Scollo, M., Durkin, S. (2023). Current vaping and current smoking in the Australian population aged 14+ years: February 2018-March 2023. Report prepared for the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care.
2. Larcombe, Allard, Pringle et al. (2022). Chemical analysis of fresh and aged Australian e-cigarettes. Medical Journal of Australia. doi:10.5694/mja2.51280.
3. Banks, Yazidjoglou, Brown et al. (April 2022). Electronic cigarettes and health outcomes: systematic review of global evidence. Report for the Australian Department of Health. National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Canberra.
4. National Drug Strategy Household Survey. (2022–2023). Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Published February 29, 2024. Accessed February 29, 2024.