Media release - 19 October 2023
A new report released by the NSW Advocate for Children and Young People, Zoë Robinson, calls for greater supports to help young people stop vaping.
The report, released by the Advocate this morning, details findings from consultations with 261 young people across NSW to ascertain their perceptions and experiences of vaping.
Ms Robinson said, “Through consultations we have learned that vaping culture is used as a stress management tool and there is an alarming misunderstanding of how harmful it can be to your health."
“Young people believe that it can’t be that bad for you because if it was, interventions such as banning would already be in place.”
Despite restrictions on trade, young people noted that vapes are easily purchased or accessible through their friends. They also noted through consultations that the secrecy around vaping and fear of punishment reduced the likelihood of them reaching out for help to stop vaping.
One young person said, “If young people want to quit, it’s hard, because you have to do it alone, you can’t go to your parents or teachers to talk about it.”
“We have an opportunity to work with young people to remove the barriers in place to them accessing support to quit vaping,” Ms Robinson said.
Young people who vape identified in-person support, nicotine gum or sports rather than “happy chemicals”, app-based support and banning vapes, social media based messaging as the top four supports they would access if they were available.
“Young people told us that they didn’t think vaping was dangerous because if it was the adults would have banned it. It us up to policy makers, advocates and myself as Advocate to take the necessary steps to support young people to stop vaping,” said Ms Robinson.
Ms Robinson said, “We’ve heard from young people that it’s not a one-size-fits all, and it’s important that we develop a suite of supports, rather than a single approach to ensure more young people are able to find a support suitable for them.”
The Young people’s perspectives on vaping in 2023 report is available on www.acyp.nsw.gov.au.
For more information or to arrange an interview with the Advocate for Children and Young People please contact: Anwen Ruttle on 0439 346 249 or Una O’Neill on 0491 224 049.
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