New research reveals key insights to help tackle teen vaping 

Key insights:

• When addressing youth vaping, we need to think beyond teens as ‘vapers’ and ‘non-vapers’
• 25% of teens are vulnerable and at-risk of vaping in the future
• Owning a vape is a critical enabler of addiction  
• The research was designed to allow health professionals, educators and parents to meet teens where they are at with vaping, and respond in a way that resonates
• Full report: www.thebcc.org.au 

A comprehensive, Australian-first research project which aims to deeply understand teenagers’ experiences with vaping has revealed 25 per cent of teens are ‘hidden’ and at-risk of vaping, and that owning your own vape is a critical enabler of addiction.

The Influencing Gen Vape research, led by Perth-based social enterprise The Behaviour Change Collaborative (The BCC), in partnership with health promotion foundation VicHealth, involved surveys with almost 3,700 teenagers across Australia.  

The Behaviour Change Collaborative’s Founder and Managing Director, Luke van der Beeke, said the research identified seven different groups of teenagers when it comes to vaping, all requiring nuanced information and support.

“It’s important to not just think of young people as either ‘vapers’ or ‘non-vapers’,” Mr van der Beeke said.

“Our research shows that it’s more nuanced than that, so our approach to addressing the issue needs to be more nuanced too.  

“For example, the teenager who is curious but hasn’t tried vaping needs a different conversation and different information to the teen who is experimenting or the one who is addicted.”

Consistent with recent academic studies, The BCC’s research found about one-third of teenagers have tried vaping.

In addition, the research reveals that within those who haven’t ever vaped, there is a group of ‘susceptible’ teenagers, who are at a higher risk of vaping in the future.  

“These ‘susceptible’ teenagers can otherwise be overlooked in the non-vaping count – we now have good insight into where they are at with vaping, what makes them susceptible, and how to strengthen their resolve to reject and avoid vaping.”

The Behaviour Change Collaborative’s Director Behavioural Insight, Donna van Bueren, said of those involved in the study, one-fifth are currently vaping, at different levels of use.

“The research reveals a particular group of teenagers, the ‘experimenters’, believe that they are in control of their vaping and will not become addicted because they don’t vape very often,” she said.

“We also discovered that owning a  vape, rather than sharing a friend’s, is a critical enabler of addiction – after purchasing their own, the teenager’s vaping frequency escalates, followed by nicotine withdrawal and signs of addiction.

“Another key insight showed that many teens start vaping and increase how often they vape for mental health reasons – coping with stress, managing their anxiety, helping them to relax. It’s important to support teens to manage their mental wellbeing in positive and healthy ways.”

The Influencing Gen Vape research was designed to discover the most effective messages, information, skills and supports teenagers need to discourage them from vaping in the future.  

VicHealth CEO, Dr Sandro Demaio, said this research arms parents and the community with powerful knowledge on how to support teens. 

“We’re proud to partner with The Behaviour Change Collaborative on this groundbreaking project, and to start sharing the important findings with those working in sectors, such as local government, health promotion, community sport and education,” Dr Demaio said.

“Our collective goal is for the learnings to support local communities to craft health promotion interventions and messaging that will positively influence teens’ attitudes and behaviours towards vaping.”

The research also revealed that most teenagers, including older teens, care most about the opinion of their parents, above all others. In light of this finding, and building on this and previous studies, The BCC and VicHealth, have created Talking to your teen about vaping, an evidence-based guide to help parents and caregivers navigate conversations about vaping with their child. 

Influencing Gen Vape: Unveiling insights into segments of teen vaping categorises young people into distinct segments, decoding their motivations, attitudes and behaviours towards vaping.  

As part of the research, online surveys and in-depth conversations were held with 3,699 teenagers aged 12-18 years from across Australia between July – September 2023.

This study gives insights into how to craft health promotion interventions and messaging that will positively influence teens’ attitudes and behaviours towards vaping. 

• It’s important to reinforce and reward teens’ decision not to vape, as well as encouraging experimenting teens to stop and helping addicted teens to quit.  
• The role of stress: Many teens start vaping and increase how often they vape for mental health reasons – coping with stress, managing their anxiety, helping them to relax. Parents and health professionals can support them to explore alternative ways to manage these feelings.
• Focus on susceptible teens: A group of ‘susceptible’ at-risk teenagers were identified. They’re curious about vaping, have the opportunity to share a vape with friends, and many think they might try vaping in the future.  
• Owning your own vape is a critical enabler of addiction: After purchasing their own vape, teens’ vaping frequency escalates, followed by nicotine withdrawal and signs of addiction.
• A parent’s opinion really matters: Some teens don’t vape because they don’t want to disappoint their parents. It’s important for parents to let them know they think vaping is a harmful decision.
• Different teenagers have different needs for information, persuasion and support, so a tailored approach is needed. The Talking to your teen about vaping conversation guide helps parents and carers identify which approach will best suit their child. 

The Behaviour Change Collaborative  

Christie van der Beeke  
Director Communications and Impact
m: 0423 673 664  
e: [email protected]