New South Wales’ Chief Health Officer has issued a stark warning against vaping, declaring “there is no such thing as a safe vape.”
This caution follows government-funded research conducted by the University of Wollongong on behalf of NSW Health, which revealed the presence of toxic chemicals in numerous seized vapes from schools and retailers.
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Some of these substances are similar to those found in antifreeze.
The study has examined 428 vapes seized from retailers and 322 surrendered by students at Sydney schools.
Throughout the test, nicotine was not listed as an active ingredient in most of them, but around 98 per cent of the devices were found to contain nicotine.
Of the vapes analysed, 30 contained at least one harmful chemical, including substances banned by the Therapeutic Goods Administration from legal vapes containing nicotine.
Ethylene glycol, a compound with various industrial applications such as air conditioning and de-icing airstrips, was among the chemicals detected.
Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant emphasised that vapes could not be considered safe, especially for children.
“This is especially true for children who are increasingly being exposed to high concentrations of nicotine and in some cases known toxic substances,” she said.
“The number of vaping-related calls to the NSW poison information centre has tripled since 2020. What is most concerning is 71 per cent of these calls were about nicotine poisoning in children under four years of age.”
To combat the growing issue of illegal vapes, the New South Wales government announced a $6.8 million crackdown on their sale and unveiled support measures for young addicts.
The surge in black market sales and a 500 per cent increase in seized vapes over the past three years prompted the state’s decisive action.
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