Surprise Surprise: The Amount of Victorians Who Vape has Doubled

Surprise, surprise (but not really): new data from the Cancer Council shows that the number of Victorian adults who vape has almost doubled in comparison to data from 2018-2019.

The Victorian Smoking & Health Survey, conducted by Cancer Council Victoria’s Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer and funded by Vichealth, found that there are now 308,827 vape and e-cigarette users in the state, up from 154,895 users in 2018-19. Over half of those were aged between 18 and 30 (54%).

Though disposable vapes have been banned in Australia since October 1 2021, after being classified as a schedule 7 Dangerous Poison under the National Poisons Standard, the report found that 7 out of 10 users (73%) bought their devices from brick and mortar stores like tobacconists, vape stores and milk bars.

“We know that the e-cigarette availability problem is magnified when it comes to children; many as young as 12 and 13 years old. The trends are worrying, and immediate action must be taken to prevent retailers from doing the wrong thing,” said Cancer Council Victoria CEO, Todd Harper

Harper called on Cancer Council Victoria, Quit Victoria, VicHealth and all sides of government to commit to the introduction of retail licensing – ensuring they know exactly who is selling e-cigarette products.

About a quarter of those who were reported to vape in 2022 had also never smoked before. CEO of Vic Health, Sandra Demaio, said that it presents a new health risk to the community, with each vape containing dozens of toxic chemicals, including formaldehyde and heavy metals, that present risk for the development of cancer as well as damage to the lungs and brain.

“We know a lot of the same chemicals and carcinogens in tobacco processing are contained in e-cigarette liquids,” Demaio said in the statement.

“E-cigarettes present a very real danger to our community – especially for children and young adults.”

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