Luke Kirkness: What I think about getting hooked to vape despite not being a smoker

OPINION:

New Zealand, the land of the long white vape trail.

That doesn't sound right, does it? My mouth is overcome with a nasty taste, like a cigarette might, as I write those words but it's our reality.

In 2018/19, 21.2 per cent of adults had tried vaping, up from 18.5 per cent in 2017/18, according to Stats NZ. The figure is bound to be higher now.

I've been vaping for near-on two weeks.

People would be right to question why I picked up vaping because I'm not even a smoker. I needed it as part of a costume for a party.

I dare say many Kirknesses would scoff after that, mainly due to the dickish way people look puffing out plumes of vapour.

There's a theory it takes about 21 days to pick up a habit and I'm well on the way to being hooked on vaping but I'm trying to stop.

Why do I continue when I think it won't have anything but negative consequences? The answer, I'm sure, is nicotine - a chemical in tobacco that causes temporary pleasing effects on the brain. Temporary is the keyword there.

Vape devices are incredibly easy to get a hold of but why? Photo / NZME

I'm not opposed to a coffin nail after a few beers but the taste it leaves on my lips is foul and the smell even worse.

That's nothing at all like my experience with vaping.

While someone might be off-put by the taste and lingering effects of cigarettes, vape flavours help mask the problem.

I have two sweet flavours for my vape device: watermelon ice and blueberry ice. You can also get flavours like cotton candy and bubblegum.

It's the more egregious, youth-focused flavours I would suggest are causing health professionals headaches because they could lead to nicotine addiction without people ever smoking a cigarette.

And it seems to be working that way, with a recent survey showing one in five secondary school students are addicted to vaping.

Vapes have the power to help people stop smoking but it's not clear what long-term problems they have themselves.

Smoking can cause cancer, heart disease, strokes, lung diseases, disabilities and other terrible problems.

Vaping? Who knows?

The Ministry of Health encourages smokers who want to use vaping products to quit to seek the support of local stop smoking services because they provide the best chance of quitting successfully, it said in its position statement on vaping.

"The Ministry of Health will continue to monitor the uptake of vaping products, their health impact at individual and population levels, including long term effects and their effectiveness for smoking cessation as products, evidence and technologies develop."

What is clear is they lead to nicotine addiction and that is a bad thing, causing things like anxiety, irritability, restlessness, frustration and insomnia.

People have questioned why vapes are so readily available and not in the hands of health professionals. It's a good question. Apparently, rapid retail expansion meant when government regulations came into play, it was too late.

I believe it makes sense to get vapes out of the hands of people in dimly lit stores and allow them to be controlled by medical professionals.

It's worth limiting the number of flavours too, to stop enticing people to try vaping. If the flavours were awful like cigarettes or brussels sprouts, I probably wouldn't vape.

Some might say that taking vapes away from retailers would result in a black market for vape products.

That could happen because anyone who wants to get a hold of something probably can, no matter if it's illegal or not - just look at our nation's drug trade.

I believe that's just something we'd need to tackle - if it occurred - because who knows what impact a generation of vapers might cause in the coming years.

While the ministry might say vapour has toxicants at levels much lower than cigarettes or at levels unlikely to cause harm, a range has still been found including some cancer-causing agents.

Just because there is no clear evidence now doesn't mean we should hold on to a she'll be right attitude, especially when it comes to a product featuring a restricted drug.

If vapes are used as they are intended, to help people quit smoking, then it makes complete sense to make it mandatory to get a prescription from a medical expert.

There's no way a health professional is going to sell a vape to a young person without a proper reason - like trying to look cool at a party.