The author of this article is a 17-year-old Illawarra high school student who has been smoking cigarettes and vapes for five years.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Vapes are every parent's worst nightmare, so I am sure there were many sighs of relief today as the crackdown on vapes came into full effect.
But will it be enough to stop our youth vaping crisis?
Today, the Australian government finally implemented their harsh ban on vapes, making selling and importing now illegal, outside of vapes prescribed by doctors and sold by pharmacists for therapeutic reasons.
Disposable vapes - nicotine or not - are banned, while reusable vapes are only allowed with a prescription.
According to the Health Minister Mark Butler, these laws are designed to protect children.
But I don't think this will cut down the number of vapes being distributed among young people, especially at schools.
Teenagers have and will always be secretive, even when it is a danger to their wellbeing, and especially when they have been hiding something big from their parents.
Here's how Illawarra kids get vapes
In every high school, in the Illawarra and beyond, there's an underground network of teens who have taken on the role of being a dealer.
These teens will buy illegally imported disposable vapes in bulk and advertise their services to surrounding peers.
This comes in many different forms, like word-of-mouth or the young person creating a Snapchat account and giving it to their clients.
Most deals happen online: the students will plan to meet up before or after school, and the deal will take place.
It can occur right outside of a school, or even inside.
At least one in three people I know vape, and I meet people as young as 12 who have picked up the habit.
It is extremely popular, and - for parents - more than likely your child could be possibly hiding one under your very nose.
Vape gets it's name from vapor - as the cartridge inside technically doesn't produce smoke and what you are actually inhaling is liquid nicotine (and other harmful chemicals).
This means there is no real way you can know how much you are actually smoking, and recent research, shows going through one vape every few days can be as harmful as smoking 10 packs of cigarettes.
Why vapes are made to be underground
In any social setting as a teen, there will be multiple people asking around for a vape, and they are almost always given one.
Vapes don't always have a distinctive smell - nothing so recognisable that it couldn't just be passed off as a perfume or candle.
This makes it easy for young people to vape secretly in their rooms, under their covers or down their sleeves.
There is no need for them to crack a window, or do any kind of cover up.
This is why it is so easy for children to hide their habits from their parents for long periods of time without them having a clue.
Up until July 1, about a third of teenagers have already been comfortable doing something wrong, hiding their vape use from parents and teachers, and accessing their vapes on the black market.
The new laws won't change that, and could in fact force them further into illegal vape use because they are scared of their school and parents finding out.
The underground market is already so huge - and it's not yet clear how the laws will be enforced - so I highly doubt there will be any significant changes in teens smoking.
