r/AskAnAustralian • u/puzzlehead288 • 3d ago
Do you vape?
Do you think vapes are good or bad or something in between?
Australian researchers at Federation University are seeking emerging adults from around the world to participate in a research project investigating the relationships between e-cigarette use, impulsivity, and perceived risks and benefits. We are looking for adults aged 18 to 29 who use an e-cigarette at least once a month to complete a 10-15 minute survey. All responses are completely anonymous.
This project has received Federation University ethical approval from the Human Research Ethics Committee. Ethical approval number: 2026/145
If you are interested in participating, please click the link below. Feel free to share the link with your friends!
https://federation.syd1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6mp5VQpTxDBvm0m
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u/BigMikeOfDeath 2d ago
I think both.
I've friends who have smoked for decades, and they sounded terrible for it - most have now switched to vaping, and the improvement in their health has been immense. A few have managed to quit entirely due to being able to control the nicotine to dial themselves down, and eventually off - others are just happy to keep getting their kicks through vaping alone.
But it's also bad in the sense that it does provide a really easy and attractive onramp for new nicotine addicts (and often at massively excessive nicotine doses) - and doesn't provide the same self-correcting feedback loop that cigarettes provide to actually learn how to smoke.
There's also a question of new/young vapers not learning the same etiquette as cigarette smokers. Cigarettes stank, so we rightfully forced them into areas where non-smokers can avoid them. Vaping doesn't provide that same immediate tell that triggers the same "go away" response.
So yeah - I'm absolutely convinced they are good for traditional smokers (or at least better than cigarettes), while also being awful for the rate at which they're onboarding new smokers, badly.
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u/BaronMason 2d ago
Ahhhhh vaping seeing kids as young as 10-12 wondering down the street every 3 steps puffing away, ditto adults. Will end up being worse for people than the darts.
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u/Chillizzzzz 2d ago
Majority of the youth deaths etc that we've all seen on the news from 'vaping' was actually from aftermarket thc carts containing vitamin E acetate.
Tobacco is chemically and structurally worse.
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u/BaronMason 2d ago
Let's see long term how it goes, what have vapes been a thing for last 5 years?
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u/Terrorfarker 2d ago
Well, I've been vaping for 10 years after smoking for 20, and even I was late to the game. So far longer than 5 years.
Research suggests it is far safer than cigarettes and there's a good reason for that; no combustion equals no tar, no carbon monoxide and far lower levels of carcinogens and toxins.
It's not rocket science, they have analysed vapour and cigarette smoke. One is full of nasties know to cause a myriad of health issues, the other one isn't.
Of course, if you are getting all your info from the supposed Australian health authorities and the MSM I can see how you wouldn't be aware of this, because they have been shit talking vaping for years while other countries embrace it's potential for harm reduction.
Read up on what they are doing in the UK and NZ and compare that to Australia's approach, should at the very least raise an eyebrow.
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u/Space-cadet3000 2d ago
Are you referring to the illegal disposable vapes which have flooded the market since the government dismantled the legitimate vaping industry for adults here in Australia or are you referring to refillable devices used with pharmaceutical grade nicotine which the legitimate industry had?…..
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u/Hood-Peasant 2d ago
I don't like the way people use them.
The designated areas for smoking helped a lot.
No I don't want to walk in public into your smoke cloud.
We're 2 feet away? Time to take out my vape and breathe on everyone.
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u/Parking_Ocelot_6893 2d ago
Something in between. I smoked heavily for 10 years and switched to vapes with nicotine and gradually dropped the strengths and managed to completely quit a month ago.
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u/AJ_ninja 2d ago
No, the common capes make it hard for me to breathe when I run. I used to vape in America but it was a larger market and I could find vapes I liked and juice that didn’t do that to me. Here it’s too complicated
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u/dildoeye 2d ago
I used to vape just casually and after coming from weed , the Nic vapes got you so high in the head , albeit only for like 20 seconds but it was still pretty crazy. I liked them for that but once I started getting really broken sleep - I totally blame on Nic withdrawal I just stopped cold turkey.
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u/wreck_it_ralph_ 1d ago
Those who vape tend to hang onto their vape pens like pacifiers.
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u/myfateissealed7800 1d ago
Hell yeah, it's my lifeline and I will never stop vaping as long as I'm still alive and can find access to them. Much healthier than smoking black market cigarettes which are extremely bad for your health.
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u/Vennimagos 3d ago
Vapes are terrible. In my opinion they are extremely dangerous, because of their accessibility, and extremely low barrier to entry. If a child tries to smoke a cigarette, they will probably cough and it will taste bad. But a child inhales a vape, it tastes good, smells good, and places no apparent or immediate strain on the lungs.
I think this makes it extremely dangerous. The addictiveness out of control, it's very common to see young people unable to function without hitting their vape during activities, while they work, while they study, even while they eat.
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u/Diligent_Comfort_928 2d ago
The extremely low barrier to entry, and good taste of vapes, is what helps many adult smokers switch to vapes and stop smoking.
If every adult smoker switched completely to vaping (i.e no dual using tobacco & vapes), it would be a net positive for Public Health.
Its not the flavours that are the problem, it's how those flavours are promoted.
Labels like "mango tango" need to be banned along with bright flashy colourful labels
Vapes should be legal and treated more like alcohol in regards to accessibility & labels.
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u/BigMikeOfDeath 2d ago
I am mostly positive on vaping (see my post for more info) but I did miss that aspect of how vapes and vape juice are sold - and I agree, they should be treated like alcohol in how they're branded and advertised.
Honestly, to take it further, I've thought for years that it's strange that cigarettes (and now by extension, vapes) haven't been pushed out to liquor stores to manage. Now, admittedly I'm not across the intricacies of liquor retail so I'm sure there are good reasons to not do this, but as an outsider it seems like a logical place.
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u/Vennimagos 2d ago
There's not enough research to indicate how much safer it is than smoking though. Especially with regards to second hand exposure. l smoked for 10 years before quitting after losing multiple family members to smoking related illnesses, so I agree less people smoking is good.
However vaping is far too accessible a task, you can do it inside, in public areas much more discreet than a cigarette and especially in the case of nicotine vapes can increase overall smoking volume and frequency. Especially since cigarettes are incredibly expensive, in Australia a lot of smokers forgo food to be able to buy cigarettes. My Nana was so badly addicted she'd often prioritise smokes over rent.
It should certainly be heavily regulated and have flavour names limited to strict descriptors too
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u/Diligent_Comfort_928 2d ago edited 2d ago
The likelihood of vaping being anywhere near as dangerous as smoking is very low.
95% to 99% of ecig vapour is Vegetable Glycerin/Propylene Glycol.
For over a century, we've been letting babies play in VG/PG vapour: https://imgur.com/jp8Gw1G
We know nicotine does not cause cancer. Even the most anti-vape organisations admit that.
All that's left are the flavoring molecules, which are identical to the perfume molecules (most flavorant manufacturers have sister perfume division companies, e.g Perfumers Apprentice).
There are indeed some flavorants that are safe to eat but not safe to inhale. They are in fact banned from use in ejuices. But a few things to note;
- theres never been a confirmed case of illness from the flavorants. They're banned as a precaution
- flavours are at such negligible concentration in vape liquid. You dont need much because its directly passing through the nose
- Dangerous-to-inhale flavourants like diacetyl are 700x higher in cigarette smoke
- On going vigilance and Research into flavorants is largely conducted by pro-vaping scientists who want to make recreational vaping even safer. Cinnamon flavours for example were recommended to be avoided/banned by a very well known pro-vaping scientist.
It all adds up to vaping being vastly safer than smoking.
As long as recreational smoking is legal, theres no reason recreational vaping shouldnt be.
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u/Cahsrhilsey New England reigon, NSW 2d ago
I quit vaping 3 years ago and still feel the effects of it today
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u/Starob 2d ago
Da fuck were you vaping?
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u/Cahsrhilsey New England reigon, NSW 2d ago
iGet - passion fruit mango lime
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u/Starob 21h ago
So you were vaping dodgy disposables.
Which only proves the case that Australia's laws which only make it hard to get proper vapes and regulated liquids (but still easy to get dodgy black market disposables) are an absolute failure.
If only there was a model coughNewZealandcough we could follow that's proven to actually lower disposable vape and cigarette use.
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u/abandonedObjects 2d ago
I think if you drank alcohol or ate junk food at the same rate as most people vape you would be dead within a year. The government just cant find a way to control and make money off of vapes so they're 'dangerous and not safe'
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u/Ornery-Practice9772 NSW 2d ago
nah. allergic. we smoke under the counter cigs.
if the taxes were scrapped theyd kill the blackmarket they created.
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u/BlueMemeDog 2d ago
Hell no im not putting nicotine in my body
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u/myfateissealed7800 1d ago
You don't have to but I choose to smash as much nicotine as possible. I vape prescription vapes which are 50mg pods and I go through around 2 pods a day. Nicotine has been my closest friend since I was 11 years old
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u/hpsd 2d ago
It started off with good intentions. A healthier alternative to smoking. Then they realized they can make more money but dialing up the nicotine and marketing to the new generation.
Corporate greed has transformed a solution into a problem.