![A young woman vaping in Crown Street Mall. File photo A young woman vaping in Crown Street Mall. File photo](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/HcD9H4nNcktxiWcmkEEpQD/31cc0c9d-59c0-4e4b-a25e-91354e74f8bb.jpg/r0_394_4542_2958_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
A new University of Wollongong study on hundreds of e-cigarettes confiscated by teachers showed almost all of them contained nicotine, even though up to half the school children who vape think they are not using the addictive substance.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
UOW researcher Dr Jody Morgan said her team's chemical analysis, which looked at 428 vapes seized from retailers and 322 vapes surrendered by children at schools, also showed some e-cigarettes had concerning levels of toxic substances.
"We identified 30 samples that had banned substances, and probably the most important of those was that four of the samples contained ethylene glycol, which is the main ingredient in antifreeze," Dr Morgan said.
"This was the first time ethylene glycol had been identified in samples in Australia, and it was a reasonable amount which could potentially cause harm.
"One particular sample [where a high concentration was found] was in an e-cigarette that was taken off a student in a school."
Dr Morgan said the research was the first in Australia to analyse vapes used by school children, and was primarily designed to find out how many of these contained nicotine.
The analysis those seized from retailers in raids was designed to see if they did contain nicotine, as suspected, and also what other chemicals and banned substances were being used in flavourings.
The sale of vapes containing nicotine has been illegal in NSW since 2021, but Dr Morgan said analysis showed many sellers had simply changed the packaging on their products and continued to sell them.
High nicotine concentrations were detected in 737 of the 750 vaping devices analysed in her study, even though they did not have nicotine listed as an active ingredient.
![Dr Jody Morgan is a toxicology expert from the School of Chemistry and Molecular Bioscience at the University of Wollongong. Picture supplied
Dr Jody Morgan is a toxicology expert from the School of Chemistry and Molecular Bioscience at the University of Wollongong. Picture supplied](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/HcD9H4nNcktxiWcmkEEpQD/5f89101e-92b7-4f30-a960-8215e4b15c7f.jpg/r0_0_1200_675_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"A lot of the self-reporting of young people suggests that between 20 to 50 per cent don't believe there is nicotine in the samples they are vaping," Dr Morgan said.
"But we found nicotine in 97.5 per cent of the samples in the school set, and the nicotine was present in quite high concentrations.
"There's definitely a number of students who genuinely do not believe that they are vaping nicotine, and they certainly don't know how much nicotine is in the product they are vaping - they would not consider it to be as addictive as a cigarette."
She said the findings had implications for the NSW Health system, as it meant young people would need specialised services to help them break their addiction to ensure they did not simply end up smoking when the Federal Government strengthens its vaping laws and makes e-cigarettes more difficult to obtain.
Following the release of the study findings, the NSW Government announced $6.8 million to crack down on the sale of illegal e-cigarettes and increase support for children addicted to vaping.
It will commit $2.5 million over 12 months to increase services to help young people quit vaping including a new digital platform, enhancements to the iCanQuit platform and an online learning module for youth services.
NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said the UOW research showed there was no such thing as a safe vape.
"This is especially true for children who are increasingly being exposed to high concentrations of nicotine and in some cases known toxic substances," she said.
"As more vapes become available, we are seeing more people seeking help from health services for vaping-related health issues."
Health Minister and Keira MP Ryan Park said he was committed to protecting children and young people from the dangers of vaping.
"As the evidence around just how damaging vaping is mounts and the number of young people who vape increases, we need to put everything into the fight against it," he said.
"Vapes contain dangerous chemicals which can seriously impact a person's health, with young people especially vulnerable. Many of the chemicals, including flavours, have not been tested for safety when inhaled into the lungs."
He said the community should report retailers doing the wrong thing.
The government will spend $4.3 million over the next three years to bolster compliance and enforcement to ensure the state meets responsibilities for retail, wholesale, manufacturing, and pharmaceutical controls on vaping products.
In early September, NSW Health inspectors ran a targeted campaign seizing 23,247 illicit vaping devices with a street value of over $695,000.
Retailers who are prosecuted for selling vapes containing nicotine can face fines and imprisonment for up to six months.