SMOKE and MIRRORS

A healthy way to quit smoking or a whole new health crisis? Vaping is growing in popularity among young Australian women, who are reaching for their vapes all day, every day, despite the health concerns, writes Lucy E. Cousins

Alison fumbled through her clutch looking for her keys after her law firm’s Christmas party in 2021. Panic swept over her as she realised the keys were in her tote, which she had left in the taxi. Not only did it contain her keys, but also sensitive court documents and the expensive Tiffany & Co. cufflinks she’d bought her partner for Christmas. But it wasn’t any of those items that were top of mind. “The first thing I thought was, ‘Oh no, my vape is in there. I can’t get through tonight without it.’”

In that moment, the 32-year-old realised she had a problem. “I’m really embarrassed to admit it now, but I’m an asthmatic and was also suffering from long Covid. I took up vaping to quit smoking, but ended up doing both. I’m a smart girl – I don’t know how I got there.”

She continued to use vapes over the holidays and promised she’d quit in the New Year. Spoiler: she didn’t. In June last year, Alison was hospitalised with a life-threatening asthma attack after a night out vaping heavily. It was the wake-up call she needed.

Unlike Alison, Zoe, a 31-year-old marketing manager from Sydney, had never smoked in her life before she started vaping. “I came back from overseas, broke up with my partner, started going out to bars with my friends and began vaping when they did, using their vapes.”

One day Zoe bought a vape for herself to use on nights out, thinking it would make things easier. Looking back, she says, it was that moment that started her down a route she never thought she’d go.