Hundreds of young Aussies have been seen puffing on vapes at Splendor on the Grass – despite a ban on the sale of the highly addictive device.
Hundreds of festival-goers have been spotted using electronic cigarettes at Splendor on the Grass, despite growing evidence that the largely uncontrolled devices are potentially deadly.
Enthusiastic fans flocked to Byron Bay Parkland from Friday to Sunday for a packed line-up including Lizzo, Flume and Mumford & Sons.
Participants flooded social media with photos and videos of themselves dressed to the nines, many with a vape as the accessory of choice.
One photo shows three women enjoying the party atmosphere and three men in front of the stage dancing on the shoulders of festival goers.
Two women are seen with their mobile phones in one hand and a vape in the other.
Vaping has exploded in popularity in recent years – particularly among young Australians – because it doesn’t carry the same stigma or price tag as cigarettes.
Revelers at Splendor on the Grass were photographed sitting on the shoulders of other attendees with phones in one hand and vape in the other.
Attendees were spotted using weed vapes as they enjoyed the three-day music and arts festival in Byron Bay.
The federal government has announced new regulations on e-cigarettes that will outlaw recreational vaping
Despite a national ban on the dangerous and highly addictive device, young Australians have been found to be using vapes
Although selling the devices is illegal, Chinese-made vapes can be bought for $50 more than a pack of cigarettes at most convenience stores and less than $20 from tobacconists.
It was previously billed as a safer alternative to cigarettes, which dramatically increase the risk of lung cancer, heart disease and other chronic conditions.
But evidence in recent years suggests that electronic substitutes cause similar harm to the body.
Experts suggest that vaping can be particularly harmful to young people because it damages DNA, promotes tumors and can cause many respiratory problems.
Experts suggest that the vapor can be particularly harmful to young people because it damages DNA, promotes tumors and can cause several respiratory problems.
A survey conducted by the Australian Drug and Alcohol Foundation found that 20 per cent of non-smokers used a vape and two thirds of cigarette smokers also used a disposable device.
The alarming statistics come despite a study which showed that vaping can contain paint, disinfectants, crude oil and even pesticides.
The findings come from an investigation into the contents of 50 over-the-counter vapes carried out by Curtin University.
More than half of the vapes tested contained chemicals toxic to humans when inhaled repeatedly, and some were linked to lung cancer.
The study found that the liquids used in 50 over-the-counter vapes included eugenol – which is used to euthanize fish – petroleum, household disinfectants, cosmetics and dyes.
Many have completely ‘unknown effects on respiratory health’.
Ewan Fisher, whose lungs failed at age 16 due to vaping, blames fruity flavors for his addiction, claiming they ‘seduce children’.
An 80-year-old has been discharged with the lungs of a lifelong smoker after vaping for just six months in an attempt to quit cigarettes.
The young man spent weeks in intensive care after his lungs failed the night before his test began. At 16, he needed an artificial lung to survive and spent 10 weeks in hospital as doctors fought to save his life.
He is believed to have suffered an exaggerated immune response to chemicals found in e-cigarette liquids. Despite eventually recovering well enough to go home, the ordeal left him in the lungs of someone more than four times his age.
Ewan spent weeks in intensive care (pictured) after his lungs failed the night before he started his GCSE exams.
Doctors attributed the problem to his vaping – something the aspiring heavyweight boxer had taken to help him quit smoking so he could improve his fitness with his ambitions of turning pro.
But that’s now a distant dream for the 19-year-old, who gasps as he walks up the stairs and admits his 65-year-old grandfather, who has smoked for 40 years, is fitter than him.
He has also lost five stone since going to hospital and is suffering from mental health problems.
Ewan told the Daily Mail: ‘They tried to tell me I would make a full recovery, but it’s almost four years later and I’m still really struggling.
‘They said my lungs would be fully recovered in two years but it’s been a long time and I can’t even say they’re at 60 per cent.
‘I was really healthy. I used to run every night and I couldn’t do anything else. Heat messes with my lungs. I am using steroids to help cope with them.
‘I can’t run, I really struggle uphill. It ruined all my joints. My life has changed drastically.
‘My grandfather is fitter than me and he is 65. When I was in hospital they said I had the lungs of an 80-year-old smoker and I’d only been vaping for five or six months.’
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