Vaping has "exploded" in popularity across Wagga over the past twelve months according to tobacco compliance officer Ian Hardinge, who has seized more than $100,000 worth of illegal products in that time.
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This comes as the state government this week launched an anti-vaping campaign aimed at teenagers, warning them of the hidden dangers behind e-cigarettes.
Mr Hardinge, employed by the Murrumbidgee Local Health District (MLHD), works to locate and seize illegal vapes throughout the community that contain nicotine - considered prescription-only and illegal to sell as of last October.
Vapes are also illegal to sell to anyone under the age of 18.
Mr Hardinge said vapes and e-cigarette products have dramatically risen in popularity over the past 12 months and he doesn't "think it's going away anytime soon".
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"[A year ago] there was very few retailers who actually used or sold any form of vape and now it's nearly 70 per cent of tobacco retailers I go into now have some form of vape," he said.
"They seem to be everywhere ... that is a massive concern."
Mr Hardinge said the products are alarming because of the harm they cause to lungs, particularly the young and developing lungs of those under 18, and because of how addictive they are.
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said experts had reported that e-vaping liquids contain liquids "similar to antifreeze, with 500 different flavours to attract kids".
"It makes it pretty obvious as to the harm it can cause to youngsters' lungs," Mr Hazzard said when announcing the government's new campaign.
Mr Hardinge doesn't work within the school sector but said he has received information from the police and local school principals about children using vapes at school.
"I've heard stories where they've closed the toilets between recess and lunch because kids were going and vaping," he said.
"I believe it's massive in all schools."
In the last twelve months within the MLHD Mr Hardinge has seized over 3000 nicotine vapes, valued at around $120,000.
Riverina Police District Operations Inspector Jill Gibson said the government's new anti-vaping campaign is "very needed".
"We do come across people under the age of 18 vaping," she said.
"Most times police will be able to speak with the parents and notify them and the parents will take on the responsibility."
She said local police have seized vaping material from youth, mostly in after school and social settings.
Mr Hardinge said one of the biggest things parents need to know is what to look for, with vape products often appearing misleading as makeup or a USB, and being small enough to fit in a pencil case.
"Parents probably don't know what they're looking for [and vapes are] quite clever in the way they're designed," he said.
"If they can make themselves familiar with what these products look like [they] might be able to identify if their kids actually have one."
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