A University of Queensland research project will investigate the online influences behind young people taking up vaping and develop social media content to support them to kick the habit.
Dr Carmen Lim from UQ’s The National Center for Youth Substance Use Research will lead the five-year project that will analyze pro-vape social media content to understand youth attitudes toward vaping.
This is the first step in an ambitious long-term plan to support young people to stop vaping and make social media safer.
Our research will explore how often young people are exposed to online content that promotes vaping and whether this affects their attitudes towards it, as well as whether social media platforms target vulnerable populations.
We will also conduct focus groups and behavioral experiments to explore youth engagement with pro-vaping content and identify interventions that could discourage them from vaping.”
Dr Carmen Lim from UQ’s National Youth Substance Use Research Centre
Dr Lim said that while Australia had implemented strict measures to control access to nicotine vaping products, there is still a lack of effective interventions designed to stop youth vaping.
“That’s why this research is important,” said Dr Lim.
“The increase in youth vaping in Australia has been accompanied by large volumes of pro-vaping content on social media, most of which is age-restricted.”
2022 survey of 4445 14-17 year olds from Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia found that more than 20 per cent had vaped in the past 12 months, with 5.7 per cent saying they vaped regularly.
Dr Lim said interventions are urgently needed to reverse the trend.
“US based study It found that vaping could add $15.1 billion to annual health care costs, which will only increase further if teenagers continue the habit into adulthood,” he said.
“Emerging research from the National Academies of Sciences in Public Health suggests that vaping has potentially harmful effects on brain, lung and heart development.
“Many e-cigarettes contain nicotine, which is highly addictive, along with other toxic chemicals that can damage brain development and increase the risk of mental health problems in teenagers.
“There needs to be more regulation of pro-vaping messages on social media platforms to reduce exposure and measures to ensure young people are aware of the risks.”
The research has received funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council Grant Scheme.
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