The number of people who smoke cigarettes in NSW has dropped to record levels, although experts have warned rising rates of vaping among under-25s could undo decades of work to reduce smoking rates.
Eleven per cent of people aged 16 to 24 reported being a current user of e-cigarettes, or “vapes”, more than double the number in 2020, data from the NSW Population Health Survey, published today, showed.
In the same period, daily rates of smoking cigarettes among all people aged 16 and over decreased from 9.2 per cent to 8.2 per cent.
Anita Dessaix, chair of the Cancer Council’s public health committee, said she was concerned e-cigarettes were making smoking a habit for the next generation.
“The biggest increase in vaping we are seeing is in that 16- to 24-year-old age group. E-cigarettes were being positioned as a way for people who were already smoking to quit, but there hasn’t been a great increase in uptake among the middle-aged,” she said.
“It does feel like the genie is starting to get out of the bottle with vaping, and we are not going to be able to get on top of the trend with the level of addiction and the sheer quantum of product available.”
Mary Ward – The Sydney Morning Herald – 2022-05-31.
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