THE NSW Government is urging young people to quit vaping and know the facts and dangers of e-cigarettes.

In recent years, the use of e-cigarettes, or ‘vapes’ has become a large trend in younger Australians, particularly secondary students, due to the ease-of-access to products and a wealth of flavours which attract younger users.

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The Government have launched the Get The Facts – Vaping Toolkit and NSW Health awareness campaign to assist users to quit vaping, whilst learning the dangers of the product, which can contain harmful substances found in cleaning products, nail polish remover, weed killer and bug spray.

Health Minister Brad Hazzard and Minister for Education and Early Learning Sarah Mitchell have launched the campaign aimed at secondary students, which reminds parents, carers, young people and teachers that vaping is not safe and can have harmful, long-term effects to the physical and brain development of young people.

Minister Hazzard said that research has proven that e-cigarettes are just as addictive and harmful as regular cigarettes.

“A respiratory researcher once told me that e-vaping liquids have chemicals that are similar to antifreeze, with 500 different flavours to attract kids,” Mr Hazzard said.

“It makes it pretty obvious as to the harm it can cause to youngsters’ lungs.”

Many vapes contain nicotine, some at extremely high concentrations, even if they are not labelled as such, and evidence suggests they can lead to a lifelong nicotine addiction.

NSW Health has worked with the NSW Department of Education to develop the Vaping Toolkit, which contains evidence-based resources and educational materials for parents, carers, young people and schools, to combat the rising number of children and young people who are trying or taking up vaping.

Minister Mitchell urged parents to discuss the dangers of e-cigarettes with their children and to report any usage in schools to principals.

“The number of young people vaping without consideration to the effects is concerning.

“I encourage all parents and young people to find out more and talk about the hidden, dangerous impacts of e-cigarettes,” Ms Mitchell said.

“Educating our young people about the dangers of vaping is essential when there continues to be a large number of reckless individuals selling nicotine products to minors.”

The campaign will target secondary students to raise awareness of the hidden chemicals in vapes, and provide a resource for teachers, parents and carers to kick start conversations.

It is illegal to sell e-cigarettes or vapes to anyone under the age of eighteen.

There are severe penalties for businesses or others who provide them to minors, including fines of up to $11,000 for individuals, and up to $55,000 for corporations, for first offences.

Between 1 July 2020 and 31 December 2021, NSW Health seized over 100,000 e-cigarettes worth an estimated street value of over $2 million.

Parents and young people can get the facts about the dangers of vaping by visiting www.health.nsw.gov.au/vaping

By Tara CAMPBELL