Children in Victoria are being offered vapes while others are calling Quitline in the grips of an addiction, as the extent of the problem in the state is revealed.
Victoria has introduced a new education program to reduce vaping in school kids in years 7 to 10, in a desperate move to counteract the harmful effects of the behaviour.
The chief executive of VicHealth, Dr Sandro Demaio, said the problem was extensive amongst school-aged children, who were calling addiction services for help, and the government wanted to prevent uptake, as well as support younger Victorians through addiction.
“This is one of the biggest health issues of our time,” Demaio said.
“We know that roughly 30 per cent of teenagers have used e-cigarettes and the numbers have increased rapidly over just a very short period.”
Health authorities have launched new written resources to help both teachers and students.
It’s the next step in the state’s existing Seeing Through the Haze campaign, which seeks to counteract usage rates.
The program exists to bring to light the harmful effects of vaping and uncovering the ingredients used to bring the devices to life.
It claimed that e-cigarettes contain poisonous chemicals such as those in bio-fuel, paint thinner and bug killer, with more than 200 chemicals detected in e-liquids during testing.
It comes as a ban on the import of single-use vapes came into force on January 1, while in March, people won’t be able to buy them outside of a pharmacy, where a prescription will be needed.
Rachael Andersen, the director of Quit, said the new resources would help many struggling Victorians.
“The purpose of these resources is to encourage them to have open and honest conversations in the classroom and to support teachers across a range of settings,” Andersen said.
(9 NEWS)
