A federal minister will propose reforms aimed at curbing the e-cigarette industry because so many Australian children are addicted to nicotine through vaping. Experts say many children do not realise they are taking in the highly addictive chemical until it is too late.
In Australia, nicotine-containing liquids, e-cigarettes and e-cigarette accessories cannot be sold, supplied or possessed without a prescription. In order to get around this, some suppliers have removed nicotine from their ingredients lists, even though their products contain it.
The result is that many children are unknowingly using nicotine and becoming addicted to it, which has prompted health experts to demand stricter laws and penalties.
Aside from nicotine, these products can also contain hundreds of other harmful chemicals, including acetone (found in nail polish remover), and pulegone (found in insecticide).
A blanket ban on nicotine vaping products will be included in the proposed vaping reforms. This will be in addition to tougher measures to curb social media advertising of tobacco and vaping to children.
In Australia, vaping rates have doubled between 2016 and 2019. A state government study shows almost a third of 16- to 24-year-olds tried vaping in New South Wales by last year, up from 15% three years earlier.
Some experts believe that quitting vaping is more difficult than quitting smoking. This is because smoking has some disincentives, such as its high cost, its social unacceptability, and its smell.
A Home Test Can Reveal If Your Child Has Been Vaping
Parents are often not aware when their kids vape. Vaping has become a nonstop habit for some children from the moment they wake up to when they go to sleep. As if they were young babies with a dummy, they are incapable of functioning without their vape.
Once nicotine is metabolised in the body, it’s called “cotinine” and can be detected by a urine drug test. By taking this test, parents can find out if their child has been vaping or smoking in the last few days. A urine drug test for cotinine can detect smoking, vaping and other sources of nicotine for up to 5 days after use.
Photo by Romain Blu on Unsplash
Zoom Testing is a leading UK drug testing company and a supplier of Drug Test Kits.
