Australia has revealed links between mental health and e-cigarette use among high school students. The research, which involved more than 5,000 Year 7 and Year 8 students from 40 schools in New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia, has brought to light the prevalence of vaping among young people experiencing symptoms of poor mental health.
The findings, published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, underscore the urgent need to address both mental health and vaping in an integrated manner during early adolescence.
The study, part of the OurFutures vaping trial, the first and only clinical trial of its kind in Australia, aims to evaluate the effectiveness of vaping prevention programs in schools.
The data was collected between May and October 2023, making this one of the largest on the topic in Australia. Of the 5,157 students surveyed, 8.3% reported having used e-cigarettes at some point.
One of the most significant findings of the study was the relationship between severe depressive symptoms and e-cigarette use. Students who reported experiencing severe depression were twice as likely to have tried vaping compared to those who did not experience these symptoms.
This trend was also reflected in students with high levels of stress, who were 74% more likely to vape compared to their less stressed peers. Additionally, those who reported low well-being were 105% more likely to have used e-cigarettes.
These data highlight the need for interventions that simultaneously address mental health and vaping behavior in adolescents.
Dr Lauren Gardner, from the University of Sydney’s Matilda Centre and one of the study’s leaders, said that while more research is needed to fully understand the complex relationship between mental health and vaping, the current results indicate the urgency of developing evidence-based prevention strategies.
These strategies should not only focus on preventing vaping, but also on providing adequate psychological support to at-risk adolescents.
Another relevant aspect of the study is the finding that anxiety symptoms did not show a significant association with the use of electronic cigarettes, suggesting that other factors may be more directly related to the tendency to vape among young people. This highlights the need to explore other possible risk factors, such as social, environmental or genetic ones, that could influence this behaviour.
The research also resonates with similar studies conducted in other countries, such as the United States, where a similar pattern has been identified between the use of electronic cigarettes and the onset of mental health problems in adolescents.
In Australia, the Matilda Centre had already documented that the average age at which teenagers start vaping is 14. In addition, separate research from the University of Sydney found that vaping rates among 12- to 15-year-olds have nearly doubled, rising from 10% to 24% between 2017 and 2023.
Emily Stockings, co-author of the study and associate professor at the Matilda Centre, said that although it was not specifically explored in this study, it is possible that the relationship between vaping and mental health is influenced by shared factors or may even be a form of self-medication for some young people.
Nicotine, a substance found in many e-cigarettes, may temporarily reduce feelings of anxiety and stress, leading teens to turn to vaping as a coping mechanism.
In conclusion, this study highlights the urgent need for interventions that address both vaping prevention and mental health support from an early age. Evidence suggests that these two aspects are deeply interrelated, and that a comprehensive approach could be the key to improving young people’s wellbeing in the long term.
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