Are Disposable Vapes Dangerous?

Disposable vapes have been extremely controversial. It has become the source of one of the biggest problems in Australia today: youth vaping.

Children as young as five, teenagers, and anyone else who shouldn’t be involved with nicotine or vapes are using nicotine vapes due to distributors and foreign manufacturers who have taken advantage of the technology to create a new generation of vaping addicts.

Vaping was introduced as a stop-smoking tool, which has since been tainted with controversy. Cheap products with a wholesale cost of $1 are being sold in grocery stores, corner shops, and even local tobacconists.

How do they achieve this price? By throwing out user safety and proper manufacturing quality and hygiene practices out the window.

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Lower safety and overhead costs mean more profits, which certainly show that these criminal distributors do not aim to help any motivated smoker. Only making new ‘cash cows’ out of cheap, disposable vaping products is their primary goal.

It’s fortunate that by July 2024, all distributors of illegal vapes cannot import or sell these products in the local Australian market. Today, you can only purchase vaping products made for smoking cessation from a pharmacy.

In today’s post, let’s take a look why disposable vapes deserve to be banned in Australia, and eventually in the rest of the world.

Lack of Regulation as a Constant

What’s the reason for the many dangers of disposable vapes? Regulation is important for any consumable product, especially one you’re sending straight to your sensitive lungs up to 200 times a day. 

Would you consider using an untested heart medicine made by unregulated profiteers that you can buy from a corner store without a prescription? 

The same hesitance for this should be shared for disposable vaping products. All nicotine vaping products (NVPs) sold illegally are a potential serious health hazard. You should steer clear of them, like your life depends on it.

In fact, the government has banned their sale nationwide in an effort to curb widespread misuse among non-smokers and the younger generation.

All illicit vapes (such as those in convenience stores and tobacconists) are imported under the radar, just like illicit tobacco and drugs, and are made as cheaply as possible for maximum profits.

How bad are disposable vapes? Lab results reveal that single-use, disposable vapes you can buy from any tobacconist or convenience store can contain high levels of nickel and lead.

If you’re inhaling something that has unknown chemicals, high levels of nicotine (even in mislabeled ‘no nicotine’ products) and leaches heavy metals straight into your lungs, you’re very likely doing similar harm to your body to smoking cigarettes, or even worse.

A Profit-Centric Market

One reason for the bright colours and attractive packaging of illegal disposable vapes is to attract non-smokers, teens, and children to their products. The fruity flavours are a great way to get them interested and addicted to the product.

Made on the cheap, these products give anyone with $30-40 access to a nicotine-filled product that’s sure to get them addicted and coming back time and time again. 

When distributors put profit first, the market is anchored toward addiction. 

So, if you’re asking “are disposable vapes safe?”, the answer is definitely no.

A New Generation of Nicotine Addicts

While relatively harmless, nicotine isn’t the cause of major health issues (except for blood vessel constriction). However, it’s the addictive chemical in cigarettes that cause you to crave the product and inhale the 7,000 toxic chemicals in smoke.

It’s the key ingredient that makes cigarettes highly addictive and habit-forming due to the way it interacts with your dopamine system.

Nicotine won’t physically harm the health of teenagers and young children. Unfortunately, it can cause long-term psychological issues in them.

Studies have shown that nicotine consumption can significantly affect the frontal lobe development of any teenager or child below the age of 25.  

A fully-developed frontal lobe is the key for making precise decisions, excellent cognitive and learning skills, and attention control.

It’s alarming to say the least that children as young as 13 years old and have used vapes are showing signs of nicotine withdrawal after using disposable vapes.

With their lack of self-control and frontal lobe development, children and teens are more susceptible to continued dependence on illegal vaping product, making it easy for the new market to create a new generation of nicotine addicts.

Recycling Problems

One other problem many people overlook with disposable vapes is the nature of their use. Like single-use plastics, single-use vapes increase the non-biodegradable trash that takes time and resources to recycle.

Plastic and lithium-ion batteries require significant energy and equipment to break down and recycle. With millions of these cheaply made products being sold on every corner, the recycling management of them is already severely lacking. 

It’s possible it will reach a point where trash storage won’t be enough to contain them, and their byproducts will leach and contaminate the soil and water sources we need to sustain life.

Pharmacy Nicotine Vaping Products (NVPs)

“Is there an alternative to disposable vapes?”, you might ask. When vapes are bought and used responsibly, they may be a helpful tool for motivated adult smokers to quit their habit for good.

For instance, the latest Cochrane Review found high-certainty evidence that NVPs are more effective than nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) in helping people stop smoking.

If first-line treatments like patches and lozenges don’t do the trick, pharmacy vapes may be an alternative solution under the guidance of a trusted medical professional.

NVP products sold in pharmacies are made under stringent pharmaceutical standards on the manufacturing process and ingredients, are toxicologically assessed for inhalation, are locally insured, and are specifically designed to help you stop smoking.

When you buy a pharmacy NVP, you’ll have to do so with a prescription. This process ensures a motivated smoker is using the product with a GP’s guidance, and it’s not sold to a non-smoker or youth who are likely wanting to use it recreationally.

Let’s look at the process of how you can get started.

How Can I Get Pharmacy Vaping Products?

Go Through First-Line Solutions First

Before you’re eligible for NVPs, you’ll have to try NRT products first. These are lozenges, gum, and inhalers that contain a small dose of nicotine to wean you off cigarettes.

While NRT does work for some people, other people are built differently and may need an alternative – that’s when pharmacy NVPs can come in.

Speak to a GP

A motivated smoker looking to use pharmacy NVPs should visit their GP and plan together a smoking cessation programme.

Once your GP deems NRT products aren’t working, they may prescribe NVPs to you that are purchased from pharmacies. Your pharmacist and GP can give you specific instructions on how to best use these products to help you quit smoking and start you on the path to nicotine abstinence.

GPs have a proven track record in helping motivated smokers quit by creating a fully customised smoking cessation programme based on your previous nicotine consumption.

Visit Your Local Pharmacy

Once you have your nicotine prescription, you can pop down to your local pharmacy. Over 2,200 pharmacies across Australia hold these products in-store.

Any pharmacy can order these in for you if they don’t currently stock them, so have a chat with your local pharmacist.

Both your pharmacist and GP can advise you on how best to use the product, such as the initial setup, and the number of puffs to take when you feel withdrawals. 

Summary

The term ‘disposable’ never had any positive meaning except that it’s convenient and easily accessible. Single-use, disposable vapes are no exception to this negative connotation – they’re a menace to the younger generation, the environment, and everyone’s health.

They empower the criminal parties that profit highly off these cheaply made products that bring no good to the world, alongside their illicit tobacco and drugs.

You’re probably reading this because you want to understand the difference between disposable vapes and pharmacy NVPs used for smoking cessation. We hope you found this information useful.

We can also help you start your quit journey today.

Smokefree Clinic gives you access to many medically reviewed and trustworthy resources that can inform and aid you in your path to wellness, so have a look around! 

If you’re ready to get started, Smokefree can connect you to Australian healthcare professionals who excel in helping patients quit smoking for good.

Link Reference

• https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/aussie-kindergarteners-caught-in-vaping-trend-principal-claims/news-story/ee3b6b89457c9e6e089b535abe89170b
• https://www.health.gov.au/news/changes-to-vaping-in-australia-from-1-july
• https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/may/03/australia-vaping-ban-import-vape-vapes-crackdown-what-we-know-and-dont-know-so-far
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3543069/
• https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-03/vape-addiction-children-smoking-cessation-schools-queensland/103515850
• https://www.bbc.com/news/health-65614078
• https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD010216.pub8/full