Vaping in Illawarra schools at 'epidemic' levels: UOW expert Dr Celine Kelso

Dr Celine Kelso from the School of Chemistry and Molecular Bioscience has been involved in mapping the vaping scenario in the Illawarra region along with a team of researchers, including Dr Jody Moller and Miss Caitlin Jenkins.

"More than two-thirds of vapers are less than 24 years of age", Dr Kelso said." Vaping is the new smoking."

Dr Kelso believes the peer pressure and the curiosity to try something everyone else is already hooked on to, contributes to the rise in young vapers.

"A lot of them don't know that it contains at least some amount of nicotine and it is known that nicotine causes addiction," she said.

Most vapes don't have nicotine mentioned in their ingredient list so as not to be bound by regulations requiring sale of vapes only to those with a valid prescription, the researcher said.

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The ease of obtaining a vape in the Illawarra, Dr Kelso said, does not help with the growing number of vapers.

"A lot of the time young kids obtain vapes from their friends who may have obtained it from someone else in the first place," Dr Kelso said.

The UOW research team chemically analysed a number of electric devices sold in the area and found all of them contained nicotine despite the lack of mention on the packaging.

"They shouldn't even legally be allowed to purchase the products but they end up getting addicted," she said.

A Wollongong mum Bella* has two kids in their early 20s who took up vaping during their school years and she cannot help being wary of their growing addiction.

"None of my kids or their friends smoked regularly. Some would have the odd cigarette out but generally non-smokers, now the majority of them vape," she said.

Bella has reported shops illegally selling the vapes quite a few times but that has not had any impact on the illegal sales.

"They're pretty colours, they taste like fruit and they have pretty lights, so attractive to kids, so easy to buy, so addictive," she said.

As a paramedic, Bella has witnessed the devastating effects vaping can have on one's health when she was called to attend on two young teens on two separate occasions, suffering from respiratory distress from going on a vaping "bender".

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"They literally used vapes non-stop over several days", she said," and they were otherwise healthy teens with no lung issues."

According to an article by newsGP, "anyone using e-cigarette products or who is exposed to e-cigarette emissions and/or e-liquids is potentially at risk of E-cigarette or Vaping Associated Lung Injury (EVALI).

Potential symptoms of EVALI include:

"The treatment for EVALI should involve immediate cessation of the use of vaping devices. The use of corticosteroids may also be indicated and in severe cases, patients will need to be treated in ICU on a ventilator," newsGP reported.

NSW schools prohibit the use of vapes within the school premises including school buildings, gardens, sports fields and car parks.

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