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Sign up to receive the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning “You hear these vaping advocates saying, well, all those people using e-cigarettes out there are using them to quit smoking,” she said.
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There are about 400,000 e-cigarette users in Australia. They’re not using them to quit.”Ībout 16% of current e-cigarette users are non-smokers who have never inhaled tobacco, Banks said, while the remaining third are ex-smokers. “According to the data they’re using e-cigarettes at the same time as smoking because they believe e-cigarettes are more socially acceptable, and can be used in some places where tobacco smoking is banned, and because they are cheaper. “If we look at all the people using e-cigarettes, 54% are current smokers as well and they’re what we call ‘dual users’,” she said. She said for most smokers, e-cigarettes are not effective tools to assist them to quit, and the majority of people who vape in Australia are not using the products as smoking cessation devices. We have seen, over the years, increasing illicit use of these products, particularly in schools.”īanks collected discarded e-cigarette packaging from her daughter’s high-school, finding the wrapper from one vape packet revealed the product contained the equivalent nicotine of nine packets of cigarettes.
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It’s heartening we finally have an evidence-based policy. “We have information about impacts like seizures and other health issues among some users. “We know nicotine is highly addictive, that it is not good for the developing brain, and that non-smokers who use them have three times the chance of going on to become regular smokers than those who have not used e-cigarettes. “These laws are a result of a comprehensive review of the worldwide evidence,” Banks said.