Vaping

About

Vaping (inhaling chemicals via aerosol from an e-cigarette) has recently become popular in Australia. Vapes are battery powered devices filled with liquids, or ‘juice'. The liquids typically contain nicotine, artificial flavouring and some chemicals. Vaping happens when the device heats the liquids into a vapour, which the user then inhales into their lungs.

Many people think vaping is risk-free, safer than smoking, and can even help with quitting smoking.

The truth is that:

• many vapes contain nicotine (even if they don’t say it on the label), which is highly addictive and can impact your health in the same way that smoking does.
• vapes that don’t contain nicotine still include chemicals that are harmful to breathe into your lungs and can cause cancer and serious lung damage.
• vapes can explode or catch fire, causing burns and injuries that can be fatal.

The Australian government is taking significant steps to crackdown on vaping. It is currently illegal to buy or sell any tobacco or e-cigarette product or a liquid intended to be used in an e-cigarette (even if it does not contain nicotine) to anyone under 18 years of age, and to buy or sell an e-cigarette or any liquid that contains nicotine without a doctor’s prescription. In 2024, importing disposable single use e-cigarettes will be banned.

We have a smoking, vaping and tobacco policy which aims to reduce vaping in our community, provide cleaner air for those who visit our campuses, and promote the evidence for good public health. The policy prohibits smoking, vaping and tobacco products on all our campus grounds, buildings and carparks.

If you’ve been thinking of quitting vaping, there’s no better time to start than now.

What to do

It’s important to understand that there are no safety or quality standards for e-cigarettes or their contents. Hazardous substances have been found in e-cigarettes, including formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and acrolein, which are known to cause cancer. Some chemicals in e-cigarette aerosols can cause DNA damage.

The short-term effects of vaping can include nausea, vomiting, coughing, shortness of breath and mouth irritation. E-cigarettes have not been around for long enough for us to have a good, evidence-based understanding of the long-term effects of vaping. However, most health experts believe it is likely that vaping will cause lung and mouth cancers.

Getting support

If you are concerned about your use of vapes, or want support to quit, we encourage you to make an appointment with Deakin Medical Centre. We have campus nurses that are trained to provide quit counselling, resources and support, and your appointment will be free and confidential.

More help and advice

The Quit website has a wide range of helpful resources.

• You can build a quit plan that will guide and support you through your quit journey.
• You can sign up to QuitCoach, QuitTxt or QuitMail for personalised support.
• You can call Quitline on 13 7848 between 8am–8pm Monday–Friday to talk to someone for advice. Quitline also has Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander counsellors, and LGBTIQ+ counsellors.
• You can use their ‘stick to quitting’ tool to distract you from a relapse.

You can read some busted myths about vaping.

The Alcohol and Drug Foundation has helpful advice about quitting vaping.

ReachOut has detailed steps on how to break a bad habit.

Smoking rates are higher in LGBTIQ+ communities: the Quit website has tailored advice.