The use of e-cigarettes among young people in NSW is increasing, even despite it being illegal to sell to anyone younger than 18 NSW has seen 16-24 year-olds increase their intake of ecigarettes from “156% in 2014 to 327% in 2020/21” (NSW Government, 2021).
Electronic cigarettes “ are a new phenomenon" that has become popular among “ younger generations and non-smokers” (Amin, Dunn & Laranjo, 2020) Smoker interest in e-cigarettes has provoked the debate about the concerns “that widespread use could renormalise smoking and increase uptake of e-cigarettes and tobacco cigarettes by young people” (Chan et al, 2021) as well as whether e-cigarettes “increase smoking cessation rates and divert youth from taking up smoking, or whether they deter smokers from completely quitting and act as a gateway to smoking for youth.” (Chan et al, 2020). Adolescents who use ecigarettes present a higher risk of taking up traditional tobacco smoking, affecting their physical development as well as “increased prevalence of respiratory symptoms and asthma in children and adolescents, even after adjusting for the smoking status” (Chan et al 2020)
Exposure to nicotine from e-cigarettes among young adults has found that dependent on “the characteristics of the device and liquid” (Seiler-Ramadas et al 2020) toxicants and carcinogens that are known to cause long-term health implications are found in them, this “questions the legitimacy of their use as replacements” (Seiler-Ramadas et al, 2020) Furthermore, shortterm e-cigarette use “ was found to have immediate adverse physiological effects” (Seiler-Ramadas et al, 2020) that are similarly seen to cigarette smoking.
Australia’s first-ever “switch to vaping” campaign was introduced to encourage tobacco smokers who can’t or won't quit to switch to vaping The “data from Australia’s National Health Survey confirms that smoking rates have plateaued in Australia” (Atrhra, 2017) illustrated in image 3, how daily smokers aged 18 years and older have decreased from 21% in 2004-5 to 138% in 2017-18
(Made in China, 2016)
Moreover, the most recent campaign “Do you know what you ’ re vaping” produced by the NSW government is aimed at “secondary students, parents, carers, young people and teachers” (NSW Health, 2022) as it demonstrates the harmful risks of vaping and its long-term effects Compared to Athra’s “switch to vaping” campaign, the NSW Government looked to educate “ young people about the dangers of vaping” (NSW Health, 2022) and created the “Vaping Toolkit” that is designed to increase awareness of the dangers of vaping and promote strategies to educate young people from the harms of e-cigarettes The NSW Government looks to scare businesses that sell illegal ecigarettes and vaping devices to minors with penalties of up to $55,000. From July 1st, 2020 to 31 December 2021, this campaign has seized over 100,000 e-cigarettes worth an estimated street value of over $2 million” (NSW Health, 2022), however, there have been no results yet on the reduction of ecigarette use among young people
The phenomenon of ecigarettes has been “partly sparked by advertising, videos and posts across various social media channels” (Amin, Dunn & Laranjo, 2020) Additionally, advertising increases the probability of young people and nonsmokers vaping or having the intention of vaping. The increased use of social media to “promote e-cigarettes and expand their market” has been used to make vaping a “socially attractive image” (Amin, Dunn & Laranjo, 2020) Young people who view advertising and see friends, family or celebrities vaping, may increase their motivation to use e-cigarettes. Instagram is a popular platform for teenagers and young adults that promotes the use of e-cigarettes through the use of “elegant features including colours, flavour variations, price promotions, discount vouchers and even celebrity endorsements” (Amin, Dunn & Laranjo, 2020).
The use of e-cigarettes among young people has increased and has many long and short-term health effects that people are overlooking
Anti-vaping biases - distracting information that is less important or significant due to there not being enough evidence on e-cigarettes
The affects when vaping feels good but because it is easily accessible it is also very hard to quit
When out with friends it is easier to “fall off the wagon ” when trying to quit as it is easily available
Even though there are many harmful effects that come with vaping, young people don’t care as they enjoy it
The widespread use of ecigarettes among young people is normalised within society as it is a cool thing to do with friends
E-cigarettes are easily accessible and the ability for people under the age of 18 to access vapes is still very easy even though it is illegal
Due to ease of accessibility, everyone has the opportunity to use a vape However, this is dependent on social surroundings
The target audience ranges from 14-24 and are currently at school or studying full-time. They also try to balance studying and working a part-time or casual job. The target audience currently vapes or at risk of future uptake of e-cigarette use and is “ more prevalent among male, non-Hispanic White, higher socioeconomic status, and lesbian, gay, and bisexual adolescents and young adults” (Stalgaitis, Djakaria & Jordan 2020), who are currently renting in metro NSW as e-cigarette use is comparable in metro and regional areas in NSW There is also a small percentage of the audience who speak Mandarin, Cantonese, Arabic or Hindi at home
Currently, men are more “likely than women to currently use an e-cigarette or vaping device” (Smoking, 2020-21 the financial year 2022) at 2.9% compared to 1.6%. This is due to higher levels of “psychological distress” (Chan, 2019) and associated with experimentation and curiosity. Moreover, image 1 demonstrates that people between the age of 18-44 are twice as likely to currently use an e-cigarette compared to 45-year-olds
Additionally, image 2 displays that 18-24-yearolds are the highest percentage (217%) of people who have used an e-cigarette, closely followed by 25-34 yearolds with 166%
Image 1
The results from our online qualitative survey of 152 people illustrated that 401% of participants interestingly don’t use an e-cigarette However, 388% are social smokers whom only vape when out with friends Social smoking among young adults comprises of nondaily smoking however is “used in social situations or when drinking alcohol with others” (Villanti et al, 2017)
The “primary socialization theory” (Villanti et al. 2017) suggests that “individuals learn normative and deviant behaviour from a small number of social influences” (Villanti et al, 2017) through their development into young adulthood Therefore, the social influences that drive smoking behaviour in young adults include, “living with a smoker, having close friends who smoke and the number of one ’ s friends who smoke” (Villanti et al 2017) Furthermore, the online survey displayed that out of 91 respondents' first vaping experience, 25 people had their first experience with friends on a night out.
Not at all
Socially Daily
Less than daily
“Seeing my friends do it, I wanted to try it” (Vaping Survey, 2022)
The target audience belongs to the Roy Morgan Metrotechs segment which refers to diverse young singles who are socially aware and educated They are commonly renting apartments in the inner city and suburbs These people look to be a part of the in-crowd and wants to stand out and look for recognition among others, however, they also look to conform with their friendship group. Moreover, they love to party and socialise with others, rather than staying home. They currently look in the short-term and have a job rather than having a career as this brings responsibility
The results of our online qualitative survey of 152 people demonstrated that 56.6% of respondents have no intention of cutting back on vaping habits, even with respondents identifying the health risks involved with vaping. The two reasons that promote young people to quit are the financial cost and difficulty breathing and when we asked surveyors whether they have an intention of quitting, they responded with “I am addicted, it makes me lethargic and hurts my chest, I can’t run anymore ” and “buying vapes costs a decent amount of money and I have experienced negative impacts on my health” (Vaping Survey, 2022)
(Vaping Survey, 2022)
Furthermore, “JUUL found that health concerns such as difficulty breathing and financial cost were common reasons for quitting” (S.Amato et al, 2021), however the health concerns that young people have with vaping aren’t “ an important motivator” and is “likely not the only reason that young e-cigarette users decide to quit” (SAmato et al, 2021) Therefore, young people recognize the health concerns that vaping has, however they choose to overlook it due to its addictive qualities and the lack of easey accessibility when out in a social situation.
With the introduction of digital technology, “ young people are characterized as technology addicts who have lost the ability to interact in face-to-face settings” (Boulianne & Theocharis 2018) Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat are “the most commonly utilised online platforms among young people” (McCrory, Best & Maddock 2020), this is due to the widespread availability of smartphones, computers and tablets Online platforms allow users to engage with all aspects through editing, distributing and commenting, this promotes engagement with both the platform and other users Furthermore, the role of digital media in the online space allows users to “obtain skills necessary for participating in civic life” (Boulianne & Theocharis 2018) as well as build social networks.
The research finding suggests that:
People who use e-cigarettes recognise the harm to their bodies that vaping has “I know that it is bad for me ” , however, quitting is difficult due to the addiction to nicotine as well as the easy access to e-cigarettes when out socially as “I get influenced by others around me vaping” (Vaping Survey, 2022)
IMG 1: Proportion of people who used an ecigarette or vaping device by age, 2020-21
Q3 Are you interested in cutting back on vaping?
IMG 2: Proportion of people who have ever used an e-cigarette or vaping device by age 2020-21
IMG 3: Percentage of daily smokers in Australia 18+
(Smoking, 2020-21 financial year 2022)
Q1 How old are you?
Dario Foti
Isabel Wheatley
Jacinta Trantino
Sean Doyle
Katelyn Lagerwey
Q2 How often do you vape?
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