Key Points
- Toxicological analyses found more than 240 chemicals in non-nicotine e-cigarettes, including 38 listed poisons.
- Nicotine poisoning can also occur with e-cigarette use, with children being particularly vulnerable.
E-cigarettes are "a complex cocktail of chemicals", some of which are poisonous, according to new research that's being used to back calls for a government crackdown on vapes.
Children as young as 14 are taking up the habit, with vaping becoming one of Australia's biggest public health issues.
E-cigarettes are often framed as a "better" alternative to smoking cigarettes, but the Australian National University report identified a multitude of risks, including unintentional poisoning.
"Our lungs are designed to breathe fresh air," lead research Professor Emily Banks said.
"People using vapes are inhaling a complex cocktail of chemicals."
More than 240 chemicals were found in toxicological analyses of non-nicotine e-cigarettes.
At least 38 of those chemicals were listed poisons and another 27 were associated with adverse health outcomes, according to a study published in the Medical Journal of Australia.
Users of nicotine e-cigarettes could also be poisoned by the nicotine itself, the report said.
Nicotine poisoning can cause seizures and respiratory depression, which can result in death, according to Cancer Council Victoria.
Most e-cigarette use is not for those giving up smoking
Australians can only legally access nicotine vapes if they have a prescription to use the products for the purpose of quitting smoking.
But the lack of strong law enforcement against the illegal sale of e-cigarettes is threatening Australia's hard-fought tobacco control successes, a Cancer Council spokesperson said.
"Every state and territory government must crack down on the hundreds of retailers illegally selling e-cigarette products outside of pharmacies, under the noses of authorities," council chair Anita Dessaix said.
The report also found that most use of e-cigarettes is not for smoking cessation, since most smokers who vape continue to smoke, and most use in young people isn't about quitting smoking.
More than one-third of e-cigarette users in Australia are under 25, with 11 per cent of the population aged 14 and over reporting e-cigarette use in 2019.
The Australian Medical Association (AMA) is urging the government to clamp down, given the increasing use of vapes by children.
"Australian governments need to act now," AMA president Professor Steve Robson said.
"This will help us to start to tackle the issue of vapes being marketed and sold to children."
Nationals at odds with health experts
Nationals leader David Littleproud on Tuesday argued retailers should be allowed to sell the nicotine version.
"We've got an epidemic out there," Mr Littleproud told ABC TV on Tuesday.
"These things are on every street corner."
He believes vapes need to be treated the same as cigarettes, to curb black market sales and limit youth access.
"We have got to get ahead of this because children are the ones that are the victims of this," he said.
At least 32 countries ban the sale of nicotine e-cigarettes, 79 countries allow them to be sold while fully or partially regulating them and the remaining 84 countries do not regulate them at all.
