Vaping quick facts

Vapes are battery operated devices that use a coil to heat liquid into an aerosol – a fine spray that contains toxic chemicals which can be inhaled into the lungs.

They contain toxic chemicals

They can contain up to 200 dangerous chemicals, such as poisons found in weed killer and paint stripper, that are inhaled deep into the lungs.

Learn more on our page Vaping: the impact on our health.

They seem to be designed for children

• Colours and flavours
  Many of the flavours such as chocolate milk, candy floss and cola ice seem to be designed to target children. 
• Often disguised to look like everyday items
  Pens, lip gloss, USB sticks or hoodie toggles, making them discreet and easy to fit into a pocket undetected. 

• The video shows a number of soft drink cans, with the text 'Which of these cans has a secret? Let's find out.'

• We then see a vape next to each can, before we see someone open one of the cans the same way you would untwist a jar lid, revealing it is a storage container to hide vapes.

• We then see the text 'Big Vape is selling products so teens can hide vapes from their parents. This must stop.'

• The video ends with a call to action to visit vichealth.vic.gov.au/vaping-impacts 

Click the transcript symbol

above to view a full transcript for this video interview with Doug, a parent of teens.

Vaping conversation guide for parents

VicHealth in partnership with The Behaviour Change Collaborative has developed a guide that can help you have a meaningful, non-threatening conversation with your teen about vaping.

Learn more

This is a term used to refer to the liquids used in vapes. They can contain up to 200 toxic chemicals including formaldehyde, nicotine and heavy metals. These chemicals are known to cause cancer and damage our brains – they do not belong in our lungs. 

Learn more about the chemicals in vapes in the See through the haze campaign from Quit. 

No, they're toxic and addictive.

Toxic
Vapes contain toxic chemicals that don’t belong in our lungs. 

Vapes pose a host of health dangers, from asthma attacks, to bronchitis, to inflammation of the lungs and in some cases, even death. 

Learn more about the chemicals in vapes in the See through the haze campaign from Quit. 

Addictive
Vaping is also highly addictive, and often leaves users feeling dependent. 

What the Australian Government is doing about vaping
See a timeline of Australian Government actions to protect future generations from the harms created by Big Tobacco and Big Vape. 

Click the transcript symbol

above to view a full transcript for this video.

No, they're mislabeled, have no product safety standards and contain toxic chemicals. 

Mislabeled
Even if vapes say they don't contain nicotine, laboratory testing has shown that most vapes available in Australia do contain nicotine.

No product safety standards
Unless prescribed by a doctor, vapes are unregulated. That means there are no minimum product safety standards or consequences for a manufacturer who doesn’t label their product accurately. 

Toxic
Vapes have been found to include up to 200 toxic chemicals, such as those found in paint stripper and weed killer. 

Learn more about the chemicals in vapes in the See through the haze campaign from Quit. 

What the Australian Government is doing about vaping
See a timeline of Australian Government actions to protect future generations from the harms created by Big Tobacco and Big Vape.

Vape 'vapour' contains toxic aerosols. Small particles from these can get lodged in our lungs.

Toxic aerosols
No. The Big Tobacco and Big Vape industries call the emissions from their product ‘vapour’ to give the impression it is just steam. But they're actually an aerosol that contains hundreds of toxic particles. 

The liquid inside vaping products can contain up to 200 chemicals, including poisons found in weed killer and paint stripper.

Particles lodge in our lungs
When people vape, this fine spray of chemicals enters the body via the lungs, where small particles can get lodged.

Heavy metals found on the inside surface of vapes (including lead, nickel and aluminum) can also shed and lodge deep in the lungs. 

Learn more about the chemicals in e-cigarettes in the See through the haze campaign from Quit. 

Only pharmacies to sell vapes  

In June 2024 Federal Parliament passed a bill to make it unlawful to sell vapes outside a pharmacy. This is the most recent action to keep vapes out of reach of children. See Government action timeline.

From 1 July 2024

• You need to see a doctor and get a prescription in order to buy a vape.  
• Vapes can only be legally sold in a pharmacy via prescription.

From 1 October 2024

• Adults over the age of 18 can buy a vape from a pharmacy following a consultation with a pharmacist.
• Anyone under the age of 18 will need to see a doctor and obtain a prescription in order to buy a vape.  
• Vapes can only be legally sold in a pharmacy. 

Individuals will not be punished for using vapes. 

Quitline (13 7878) is a free, confidential advice and support service open 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday

Quitline counsellors are available via phone, live web chat, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger or SMS:

• Call Quitline on 13 7878
• Text 'call back' to 0482 090 634 or book a time 
• Learn more at quit.org.au

They also provide:

• Aboriginal Quitline (13 7848)
• Translators (call Quitline on 13 7848 and tell them you need an interpreter)
• Access if you are deaf or have hearing or speech impairment via the National Relay Service:
  • TTY users phone 13 3677 and ask for 13 7848  
  • Speak & Listen users phone 1300 555 727 then ask for 13 7848
  • Internet relay users connect to the National Relay Service then ask for 13 7848