With more young people vaping and schools at a loss how to prevent it, the NSW government will host a panel of experts and interest groups to help guide policy measures.
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The state's first Vaping Roundtable will bring together principals, students, health officials and other stakeholders to discuss the tricky issue on November 16.
After hearing evidence how vaping is affecting young people and schools, the group will discuss effective school-based interventions.
Premier Chris Minns said young people are often impetuous and take up bad habits without understanding the long term consequences.
"If there's experts around the table that are looking at other jurisdictions that are having more success, particularly in communicating with young people about how dangerous this could be, then I'm all for new ideas and initiatives," he said on Wednesday.
Education Minister Prue Car said many schools were struggling to find answers in the face of rampant vaping by students.
As many as one in three young people aged 14 to 17 have vaped and are being deliberately marketed to by manufacturers, Ms Car told parliament on Wednesday.
"Their business model relies on getting young people addicted to these things, knowing if they get a teenager vaping they'll probably have them addicted for a long time," she said.
"As a society, we did so much work together to combat the issue of smoking. Now this is our generation's challenge to deal for our school children, the issue of vaping."
Those invited to the roundtable include Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant, Manager of the Cancer Council NSW's Tobacco Control Unit Alecia Brooks and University of Sydney School of Public Health Associate Professor Becky Freeman.
Also attending will be leaders from the state Department of Education, Teachers Federation, P&C Federation and the Advocate for Children and Young People.
Last month, the government committed $6.8 million over three years to clamp down on illegal vape vendors, many who openly flaunt laws banning the sale of nicotine-based products without a prescription.
More inspections would be carried out of outlaw vape-sellers but a national ban would be key to stamping out the practice across all retail settings, Mr Minns said.
The federal government in May announced $234 million for tougher regulation, including stricter import and packaging controls.
The measures will include banning the import of non-prescription vapes for retail settings and of single-use products.
Australian Associated Press
