News
Smoking declines but 1 in 4 young people using nicotine product - New data
Posted 17 July, 2026
New data from the National Drug Strategy Household Survey 2025 (NDSHS), released today by the Australian Institute for Health and Welfare, shows a substantial reduction in smoking prevalence for Australians aged 14 and over. Meanwhile, one-in-four young people (24.4%) aged 18 to 24 have used nicotine products (tobacco, non-therapeutic vapes, oral nicotine products or snus) in the past year.
Quit Director Rachael Andersen said the results point out the successes in Australia’s comprehensive approach to tobacco control over decades. However, they also highlight the gaps where industry has aggressively marketed new products to our youngest Australians.
“If vapes and oral nicotine products had never been introduced to Australia, we’d be looking at substantial reductions of nicotine addiction among Australians and fewer cases of preventable illness as a result. Instead, while our smoking rate is lower than ever, the new data shows that around half a million [525,000] young people are using nicotine in some form and 1.2 million Australians are still smoking. There is more work to be done.”
Smoking among 14 to 17 year olds has fallen to a record low of 1.2%, down from 3.2% in 2019. Vaping among this group has also declined with approximately 40,000 fewer young people vaping today, down from the peak in 2022-23. Despite this decline, 6.4% or 77,000 young people are still using non-therapeutic vapes.
“These declines in youth smoking and vaping are in line with the introduction of the national vaping reforms and alongside investment in campaigns. Quit has run campaigns informing young people of the harms of vaping and the manipulation of the tobacco industry, and now the challenge is to address nicotine product usage among young people more holistically,” Andersen said.
The data also raises alarm about the degree of nicotine addiction, with more than one-in-four (26.3%) Australians who currently use nicotine products now using at least two products. 3.1% of Australians aged 14 and over are using two forms of nicotine, while 0.9% are using three forms of nicotine.
“We now have a suite of harmful addictive nicotine products being used in a range of circumstances, many of them sold illegally. We’re worried that use of more than one product can worsen addiction to nicotine without the user realising. We worry for the health ramifications for people with patterns of higher nicotine usage,” Andersen added.
Nicotine is widely known as one of the most addictive drugs and Quit remains committed to supporting as many Australians as possible to quit. In addition to people seeking support from Quitline, in the past month more than 80,000 people visited quit.org.au seeking information and creating a free, personalised Quit Plan.
In reflecting on what’s next in tobacco control, Andersen called for strengthened enforcement and more funding for campaigns and services to motivate and support people to quit nicotine and stay quit.
“Today is good news. And if we further drive down demand for tobacco and nicotine products by supporting more Australians to quit, we will reduce the viability of businesses selling these harmful nicotine products. And if government efforts on enforcement intensify to curtail the illicit market, we’ll in turn make it easier for more people to quit,” Andersen concluded.
For support to quit nicotine, visit quit.org.au or call Quitline 13 7848.
ENDS
Media Contact
Prue Gildea - Quit Media Manager
M: 0400 394 274