Letitia Harding: Asthma and Respiratory Foundation chief executive on new stats around high school student vaping rates

Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

Vaping rates are dropping across younger school students, but it's on the rise among senior students.

The Asthma and Respiratory Foundation survey finds 12 percent of high school students reported vaping in the seven days before the survey was taken - compared to 26 percent in 2021.

However, 26 percent of Year 13 students are weekly vapers - doubling over the last three years.

Chief Executive Letitia Harding told Ryan Bridge the increase is probably down to regulation coming in pretty late for older students.

“You’ve got this group that had very little regulations around taking up vaping and some are very, very high in nicotine doses as well, because back then, the nicotine contained in vapes had up to 53 milligrams of nicotine in them, so you’ve got this group that has probably become quite addicted to these nicotine vapes, and that’s carried on through.”

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