Youth worker Lani Pomare says it is rare in her line of work to find someone who does not vape.
She works with young people on the New South Wales Central Coast and is worried that the side effects of vaping are going to worsen when next year’s national bans come into effect.
Single-use vapes will be banned in Australia from January and refillable non-therapeutic vapes will be banned from March.
Ms Pomare said if the government could successfully crack down on the illegal sale of vapes once the bans started, young people suffering from withdrawals would need more help.
“I’m worried about seeing [an] escalation of violence amongst young people and just escalation of emotional outbursts,” Ms Pomare said.
Ms Pomare and fellow youth worker Liam Bellette said they supported the bans but believed governments needed to provide more detail about how they would support people suffering from withdrawals.
“It’s going to be life-changing for some of them to be withdrawing from that,” Mr Bellette said.
Recent data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows while the rate of smoking cigarettes is declining among young people, it is the opposite story for vape use.
The data shows one in six people aged 15 to 17 have vaped, with the figure rising to almost two in five for those aged 18 to 24 years.
Meanwhile, a recent university study of more than 4,000 teenagers found one in four had used vapes.
The NSW government declined an interview request, but in a statement a spokesperson acknowledged more support could be needed when the national bans came into force.
The spokesperson said a new guide had been released to support professionals helping young people quit vaping.
“This guide is part of a package of resources to support young people to quit vaping, which includes a $2.5 million investment to bolster support services for young people,” they said.
Ms Pomare said a guide was unlikely to help young people on the ground.
She said the government needed to consider solutions such as mobile phone apps and drop-in spaces.
Australian Psychological Society president Catriona Davis-McCabe said while the government had made the right decision, it could lead to local health and community services being placed under more pressure.
“Withdrawal really has serious implications for mental health,” Dr McCabe said.
“We’re talking about increased anxiety, irritability, stress, depression [and] difficulty in concentrating.
In a statement, federal Health Minister Mark Butler said the government was committed to stamping out vaping.
The federal government has committed nearly $30 million over four years to deliver specialised programs, including an online hub that contains tools and resources to help people quit vaping.
The government is also planning to redevelop the My Quit Buddy app to help people quit both vaping and smoking.
The rollout of the measures is expected to begin early next year.
(ABC)
