The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) is investing $2.2 million for research focused on strategies to reduce the use and harms associated with vaping and the use of e-cigarettes in Australia.
This research makes up 2 of 216 diverse projects receiving funding under the NHMRC’s largest scheme — Investigator Grants.
E-cigarettes are filled with liquids including nicotine, artificial flavourings and various chemicals, some of which have been shown to be toxic.
While the long-term health effects are unclear, we do know vaping is still a fairly new activity and some diseases, such as cancer, can take many years to develop.
More than 26% of Australians aged between 18 to 24 have used e-cigarettes—the highest usage rate across all age groups, according to recent studies.
Dr Emily Stockings from the University of Sydney will receive nearly $1.6 million in funding to develop a program to directly reduce the use and harms associated with e-cigarettes.
Dr Stockings and her team have created a program, called the VAPE program, which proposes 3 streams of research to address these issues:
- Trends: detailed monitoring of e-cigarette use and engaging young people to develop preventive resources for use in schools and community settings
- Resource development: a new evidence-based suite of prevention resources
- Implementation: translating resources into real-life practice in existing health and education services.
Further concerns about social media algorithms and how pro-vaping content can infiltrate user accounts is valid given how widely and quickly messaging can spread. In some cases, pro-vaping messaging blatantly targets younger audiences through influencer advertisements, trendy flavours, and the use of familiar cartoons on company logos.
Research has shown that young people who view social media content featuring e-cigarettes are more likely to vape and to view e-cigarettes in a positive light.
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Dr Carmen Lim from the University of Queensland will receive nearly $660,000 to develop a program to understand how pro-vaping campaigns on social media influence young people’s attitudes towards the use of e-cigarettes.
This funding is part of $379 million awarded through the NHMRC Investigator Grant scheme.
The Investigator Grant scheme is NHMRC’s largest funding scheme and a major investment in Australia’s health and medical research workforce, providing a 5-year fellowship and research support for outstanding researchers at all career stages.
Quotes attributable to NHMRC CEO, Professor Steve Wesselingh:
- 'The use of e-cigarettes has increased which perhaps is not surprising, given that e-cigarette flavours come in many different tastes—from grape to bubble gum—which appeal to children.'
- 'Research like this is so important to identify the trends, find new evidence, and provide high-quality education, especially to our younger community.'
- 'Education is often the first action to address unhealthy behaviours—and it’s crucial that we support this type of research.'
Quotes attributable to Dr Emily Stockings:
- 'This innovative project will use iterative co-design approaches to develop resources to prevent and reduce vaping in young people. We will bring these to scale via implementation into health, community, and school settings.'
- 'By adopting a holistic approach to vaping prevention, this project will develop new resources to reduce vaping and improve young people’s overall physical and mental health, coping strategies, and their engagement with health and community services.'
Quotes attributable to Dr Carmen Lim:
- 'Efforts to combat youth vaping and its harmful health effects are being hindered by prolific pro-vaping content on social media.'
- 'These posts receive billions of views and most of them are not subject to any age restrictions.'
- 'I will lead a research program to understand how pro-vaping content influences young people’s attitudes, develop a social media intervention, and propose regulatory solutions to reduce youth vaping.'