Why Australian health bosses say they're finally winning the war on vaping

A crackdown on vape sales looks to be working as vaping rates among younger Australians fall. The tough rules could be having an unintended and unwanted side effect, with smoking rates on the rise.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Band vapes on display illegally at a tobacco shop in
Western Sydney, storage units stacked to the brim. This a
modern day prohibition operation run by two federal government agencies.

Speaker 2 (00:17):
Today we can say that more than ten million vapes
have been seized.

Speaker 1 (00:21):
The crackdown, contributing to fewer teenagers vaping from seventeen percent
in twenty twenty three to fourteen.

Speaker 2 (00:27):
Now vaping rates were exploding year on year when we
were coming to government. We can now say that the
peak of vaping is behind us.

Speaker 1 (00:35):
The survey results also show attitudes have changed. Young people
no longer find it cool.

Speaker 3 (00:41):
They're almost ashamed of the fact that they're addicted.

Speaker 1 (00:44):
But the numbers are still too high.

Speaker 4 (00:45):
I see lots of people, yeah, still vaping, especially at
the train station, inside the trend. Then there street everywhere.
There's a lot of vape twitter everywhere.

Speaker 1 (00:53):
Officers worn. It's fueling the black market trade.

Speaker 3 (00:56):
It's a market that targets our communities, including our children,
and sends profits into the hands of organized crime.

Speaker 1 (01:02):
And while vape uptake might be turning a corner, the
crackdown is likely pushing Australians back to an old habit.
Recent data suggests an almost forty percent spike in one
year of eighteen to twenty four year olds taking up
cigarette smoking, particularly cheap illegal cigarettes.

Speaker 2 (01:19):
Is probably now I think the biggest threat we have.

Speaker 1 (01:22):
Jennifer BESHWHARTI seven News