Schoolkids as young as 13 buying toxic vape pens with as much nicotine as six packets of cigarettes

A top doctor has warned of the serious health effects of readily available and highly toxic vapes that are being purchased by teenagers for just $14.  

Nicotine e-cigarettes are being bought by schoolkids as young as 13, with one in five teenagers in Australia estimated to be using the highly-addictive devices. 

The illegal vape pens contain 50 milligrams of salt nicotine, which some experts claim is equivalent to smoking six packets of cigarettes. 

While the devices are designed to help smokers quit nicotine, a top respiratory doctor has warned the vapes could have the adverse effect on non-smokers. 

Matthew Peters, Head of Respiratory Medicine at Concord Hospital, told Today he has noticed a spike in the purchase of e-cigarettes in the last 12 months.

‘Nicotine is toxic, it’s addictive,’ Professor Peters said, explaining the vape pens could be easily purchased on Facebook Marketplace and convenience stores. 

The pocket-sized devices can be purchased in various flavours including blueberry, banana and lychee and can be easily concealed for use at school. 

To test the availability of the illegal devices, Professor Peters went online under the guise of purchasing a vape. 

‘As an experiment this morning I went on Facebook Marketplace, I typed in ‘fruit’ – the second item was for $14′, he said. 

‘I could buy a disposable vaping device, that packs the punch of six packets of cigarettes, something that would cost kids $300 plus, they can buy online very easily for $14.’

The respiratory doctor said many of the devices were sold without a warning label that stated nicotine was present in the product. 

He said the ‘fruity smells’ and ‘pleasurable part’ of the vape pens were the perfect disguise for the irritant nature of the high dose of nicotine. 

‘Your child will not come home smelling like an ashtray, and it’s easily done in a bedroom, in a classroom – a teacher may not notice,’ he said.  

‘The people who are selling it, the people who are harming our kids and making money, are really vultures in my mind, preying upon the health of young Australians.’

Meanwhile, parents and teachers across the country are growing increasingly concerned as the disposable vapes become more accessible to teens also unaware of the risks.  

A 14-year-old student from Queensland told ABC Radio Brisbane that smoking the e-cigarettes gave a ‘nicotine buzz for about two minutes’. 

She said the e-cigarettes were becoming increasingly popular at her school because kids could learn to do smoke tricks with their friends. 

But in reality, vaping made the young student feel sick. 

‘It doesn’t feel that good. I remember the first time I did it I was coughing so bad, but no, really it just makes you feel sick, because you get all shaky and you kinda can’t stand up. It’s like a mini-high for two minutes,’ she admitted. 

Last month Aquinas College in the Gold Coast were forced to lock their bathrooms to stop students from meeting in the toilets and vaping during class. 

Students were required to undergo a ‘check-in’ procedure to get their teacher’s permission in an effort to combat the use of the addictive pens.  

A concerned mother told the ABC she busted her daughter using a vape after finding a message on her phone and searching for the device online. 

‘At first, I was sad that your child is involved in that, then I understood it because I was a teenager and I get it — and then I was angry,’ she said. 

‘I was angry that these exist, that there is flavoured nicotine which appeals to kids.’

The mother said students as young as 12 and 13 were being pressured to try the vape pens, and called for better education in schools about the risks involved. 

Tobacco stores across Australia sell the addictive e-cigarettes for less than $20, offering to send the products in ‘discreet packaging’. 

Teenagers can also purchase the vape pens from dealers who buy their stock internationally and sell to kids on social media sites such as Instagram.

Most tobacco stores don’t require their customers to provide proof of age, despite it being illegal to sell a minor nicotine in Australia. 

However new restrictions on the nicotine e-cigarettes due to come into force in October will make it illegal to import the pens for vaping without a prescription.  

A statement from the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) said that stopping consumers from purchasing e-cigarettes from overseas websites would be difficult. 

But ‘from October 1, the Australian Border Force, working with the TGA, will have powers to intercept them at the border’, the statement read. 

Lung Foundation Australia CEO Mark Brooke previously told Daily Mail Australia it was extremely concerning to see young people have access to and smoke the illegal e-cigarettes.  

‘We know that disposable nicotine e-cigarettes are harmful to overall health, and particularly harmful to respiratory health’, he said. 

‘Many nicotine e-cigarettes, such as puff bars, contain high levels of nicotine and other harmful chemicals to create flavours.’

Mr Brooke said young people are especially at risk when using e-cigarettes, as exposure to the high doses of nicotine can harm the developing brain. 

‘Exposure to nicotine can affect aspects such as learning, memory, mood and attention. What’s more, it increases the risk of addiction to these products’, he said.  

Mr Brooke encouraged young people to be curiously critical of why the disposable e-cigarettes were being marketed to their age-group, as well as question what was actually in the devices and who they can trust for accurate information.