Latest data from a recent survey on Australia’s youth vaping prevalence is raising concerns among public health advocates and regulators. Photo credit: sarahjohnson1, Pixabay.
Data from the 2022/23 Australian Secondary Students’ Alcohol and Drug survey found that vaping among Australia’s youth jumped from 13% in 2014 and 14% in 2017 to 30%, with 15% reporting regular vaping (20 days or more in the past month) and 3% saying they had vaped daily in the past month.
Survey data showed that vaping prevalence was significantly higher among older students, with 43% of students aged 16-17 years reporting vaping in their lifetime compared to 24% students aged 12-15 years.
Female students exhibited a higher likelihood than male students of experimenting with vaping and developing a regular habit. Specifically, 35% of girls reported trying vaping at least once in their lifetime, with 20% vaping in the past month. In comparison, these figures stood at 25% and 12% respectively for boys.
Of the students who had experimented with vaping, over two-thirds indicated that they had never smoked a tobacco cigarette before their first experience with vaping. Additionally, one in five students who had not smoked before trying an e-cigarette reported later taking up smoking tobacco cigarettes.
Survey data also showed the proportion of students who reported ever smoking or vaping rose from 8% in 2014 and 2017 to 12% in 2022-23.
In the 2022-23 period, 16% of students reported either vaping and/or smoking in the past month. Among these students, 13% had exclusively vaped, 3% had smoked cigarettes and used a vape, and less than 1% had exclusively smoked.