Following government-funded study that showed harmful chemicals in a large number of vapes taken from stores and schools, including one that is also present in antifreeze, the chief health officer of New South Wales issued a warning, saying There is no such thing as a safe vape.
The state administration launched a $6.8 million crackdown on the sale of illegal vapes along with support for adolescent addicts, along with the grim warning.
The study, which looked at 428 vapes that were taken from shops and 322 that were turned in by kids at Sydney schools, was carried out by the University of Wollongong on behalf of NSW Health.
While nicotine was present in around 98% of the devices, it was not labelled as an active ingredient in the majority of them.
Of the devices, thirty had at least one chemical that was known to be harmful to health, including illicit substances that the Therapeutic Goods Administration has outlawed from being used in legal vapes that contain nicotine, like ethylene glycol, which is also found in air conditioners, the natural gas industry, and airstrip de-icing systems.
According to research, vapes can’t be trusted to be safe because you just don’t know what is in them.
This is particularly true for kids, who are being exposed to higher and higher doses of nicotine and, in certain cases, known toxic substances.
Since 2020, the NSW Poison Information Centre has received three times as many calls about vaping. The most alarming statistic is that 71% of these calls concerned children under the age of four who had experienced nicotine toxicity.
Companies are avoiding these laws by calling e-cigarettes as “nicotine-free” even though they contain nicotine. It is against the law to purchase and sell e-cigarettes or any e-liquid that contains nicotine without a doctor’s prescription.
Sales on the black market are rising.
Over the last three years, the quantity of vapes seized in New South Wales has surged by 500%; last year, NSW Health seized 182,000 vapes throughout the state.
The state government has said that millions extra are included in this year’s budget to solve the issue.
The extra money will pay for a new digital platform and an online learning module for juvenile services in addition to more enforcement. Additionally, improvements to the current iCanQuit anti-smoking programme will be funded by it.
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