New national data from the Generation Vape study has found that the rate of vaping has decreased among young people aged 14-17, falling from 18 per cent in early 2023 to 15 per cent in 2025. 

The Generation Vape study, led by Cancer Council NSW in partnership with the Daffodil Centre and the University of Sydney, shows that, alongside the decline in vaping rates, the number of young people who have never vaped has increased to 85 percent compared to 82 precent in early 2023. The percentage of young people who have never smoked is at its highest ever level at 94 percent.                           

Professor Becky Freeman, Chief Investigator of the Generation Vape study, and member of both the School of Public Health and the Charles Perkins Centre said: "The study shows that the social acceptability of vaping over the past few years has shifted. Young people tried vaping as it was marketed to them as fun, “safe” and full of great flavours but, increasingly, young people report the realities of vaping addiction and harm to their wellbeing.” 

Designed to appeal to young people by using colourful packaging and flavourings, vapes contain chemicals that can cause serious health issues such as lung damage. They also contain the highly-addictive substance nicotine, with young people known to be more susceptible to addiction.                               

Alecia Brooks, Chair of Cancer Council’s Tobacco Issues Committee says that the decline in vaping rates is an encouraging indicator that vaping laws are protecting young people but warns that illegal retailers persist in putting profit over public health.

“Vapes are becoming less socially acceptable and less accessible, however tobacconists in particular continue to exploit young people. Of those who said they purchased their own vape this year, over a third said they’d purchased it from a tobacconist or vape shop.

“Some tobacconists and vape shops are still blatantly selling illegal vapes to young people. With strong vaping and tobacco control laws now in place, we welcome increased government and agency enforcement action to deter and hold retailers accountable for illegally selling these harmful products.

“What is encouraging is that vape product access through social media channels remains incredibly low. Platforms like Snapchat, the most common platform for purchases, saw a decrease from less than a tenth in February 2024 to just 4 percent in April 2025. Young people are also being exposed significantly to vape ads on popular social media platforms this year compared to early 2024,” said Ms Brooks.

Participants in the Generation Vape study have also shared how their perceptions of vaping have changed over time: 

A 17-year-old male and regular user of vapes said: “Like, before it used to be more like cooler, like... I don’t know. I guess, like I don’t know, more fun and exciting but now it’s just like kind of like gross now.” 

A 17-year-old female and regular user of vapes said: “This sounds, like, weird for me to say, but I feel like it’s kind of good that like I’m embarrassed by it...when I first started...we're like “Oh, everyone’s doing it”, and now it’s like a lot of people think that it’s like cringe and it’s...just not cool to do that. So, I feel like it’s kind of like I don’t like to admit that I do I vape, cause it’s...got this like kind of stigma around it now, yeah.” 

The latest national data also shows the rate of vaping among 18-24-year-olds has dropped from 20 percent in 2023 to 18 percent in 2025.

Professor Freeman said that while the data was promising, effort needs to be made to tackle the illicit tobacco trade. 

“Australia has been very effective at making smoking both undesirable and socially unacceptable – but it is vital now that we focus on enforcement measures to tackle the illicit trade in tobacco. This isn’t easy, but we urgently need all levels of government to work collaboratively to tackle the importation and sale of illicit tobacco,” she said. 

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Research

Read the report.

Declaration

Generation Vape is the leading Australian study to survey young people aged 14-24 years, parents and teachers about their experiences and perceptions of vapes. It is led by Cancer Council NSW in partnership with the Daffodil Centre and the University of Sydney, and funded by the Australian Government Department of Health, the NSW Ministry of Health and Cancer Institute NSW.