A new report from Cancer Council and Quit Australia shows the vast majority of Australians are supportive of action to better regulate the usage of e-cigarettes.
With their alluring scents and brightly coloured packaging, e-cigarettes, or vapes, have become increasingly popular with young people. But their addictive nature and a lack of understanding about what's really in them continues to spark concern.
Cancer Council Australia's director of Cancer Control Policy, Megan Varlow, says they are deliberately designed to be that way.
"So they're made in a way that's attractive, they're marketed and made in flavours, and designs that are interesting and engaging for younger people. They also do a really good job of connecting via peers, and making sure that people, young people have access to an illegal product without realising that that's what they're doing."
New research suggests the vast majority of Australians are supportive of action to better regulate the usage of e-cigarettes.
A joint report from Cancer Council Australia and Quit reveals 83 per cent of Australians want federal and state governments to crack down on retailers who are illegally selling nicotine e-cigarettes without a valid prescription.
Dr Sarah White, director of Quit Victoria, told SBS News most e-cigarette users are young adults, aged between 18 and 24.
"That worries us greatly because that 18-24 year old age group actually has very low smoking rates. So this is a group that is responding to culture, it is not a group using e-cigarettes to stop smoking. And when you see three quarters of that group saying e-cigarettes are highly addictive we know that they're reflecting on the issues that are being experienced by other people in their age group who are vaping."
