IN THE twelve months since national vaping reform legislation was passed, there is evidence fewer young Australians are taking up vaping, according to the latest data from the Cancer Council’s Generation Vape Project.

Research from the most comprehensive survey on vaping in Australia has found the rate of vaping dropped from 20% to 18% among 18- to 24-year-olds from 2023 to now.

Among 14- to 17-year-olds, the rate of vaping was rapidly rising in recent years but started to drop in the final quarter of last year, falling from 18% in early 2023 to 15% in the latest data.

Young people aged 14-17 years are vaping less – those who have never vaped or even had a few puffs has increased to 85% compared to 83% in early 2023.

Those who have never smoked or even had a few puffs of a cigarette is at its highest rate on record at 94%.

“Twelve months on from the commencement of the vaping reform legislation, we remain resolute in our work to enforce the vape reforms and educate Australians on the health harms of vaping,” said the Minister for Health and Ageing, Mark Butler.

“Vaping rates skyrocketed in the five years before these reforms, particularly among young people,” he continued, adding that “vaping rates for young Australians have now turned the corner”.

Australian Medical Association Vice President Associate Professor Julian Rait described the findings as “real cultural change – and that’s a win for families, schools and communities”.

The post Youth vaping rates have “turned the corner”, Butler says appeared first on Pharmacy Daily.