The 2021 NSW Population Health Survey published last week shows smoking rates dropped from 9.2 per cent of NSW residents aged over 16 in 2020 to 8.2 per cent in 2021.

However, the survey also reports that 11 per cent of people aged 16 to 24 reported being a current user of e-cigarettes, or "vapes", more than double the number in 2020.

Murrumbidgee Local Health District health promotion officer Krithika Kumar said it is concerning seeing so many young people vaping.

Miss Kumar said it is hard to tell if the majority of the vapes being used by young people are vapes containing nicotine, however, Miss Kumar said any form of vaping is unsafe.

"I think it's good for people to be aware that although most vapes claim to be nicotine-free, they might not be," she said.

"With or without nicotine, vapes contain a mixture of unregulated, harmful chemicals - they also have additives in them which make them equally as harmful. I don't think anyone wants to be inhaling something which is also found in cleaning products, nail polish remover, weed killer and bug sprays."

Miss Kumar said the nicotine in one vape can equal 50 cigarettes, depending on the size and nicotine strength.

"I think it's safe to say they are worse than smoking normal cigarettes. These devices can also be modified to deliver a higher and more harmful concentration of nicotine which produces more toxic chemical particles," she said.

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Similarly, Miss Kumar said vapes containing nicotine can be equally addictive as cigarettes.

"The biggest misunderstanding about vapes is that they are harmless compared to cigarettes, which is not true, vapes are unsafe," she said.

"Vaping has been linked to serious lung diseases, heart attacks and strokes. It's also said to change the structure of your DNA which can cause cancer and just five minutes of using a vape changes the way in which your lungs work. It increases inflammation in the air passages and some of the immediate effects that people have are nausea and dry itchy throat and airway - there's also persistent coughing.

"Especially in young people, smoking also affects the brain development over the years and can also cause anxiety and depression."

Wagga resident Loree Scott, who is a smoker, said when it comes to adults, smoking or vaping is a matter of personal choice.

"People have a choice to do whatever they want to do in their lives with themselves and their own body. It's no one else's business at all," she said.

However, Miss Kumar said young people are likely being enticed by vapes because of the bright and colourful packaging they are sold in.

"Many vapes also come in appetising flavours making them of great appeal, mostly to the younger generation. They can be concealed easily too, they can look like common objects like highlighters, a pen or even a USB," she said.

Miss Kumar said young people are likely accessing illegal vapes vapes that contain nicotine through friends, siblings, at stores or online.

The biggest preventative, Miss Kumar said, is parents having "polite and relaxed" conversations with their children.

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