CURRENT SITUATION

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

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).