Measuring the prevalence of vaping and illicit tobacco in Australia

There is significant public concern about increased nicotine vaping among young Australians and a growing illegal tobacco market in Australia. This project aims to use a wastewater-based epidemiology approach to establish a world leading program to monitor the prevalence of illicit vaping and illicit tobacco use in the Australian population.

The project expects to demonstrate the effectiveness of integrated wastewater-based epidemiology approach in improving our understanding of the impact of tobacco control and tax policies on vaping and illegal tobacco markets. The expected outcomes include building government capacity to objectively measure the prevalence of the illicit consumption of controlled substances beyond nicotine.

Research Output

Wang, Z., Zheng, Q., Thai, P.K., Gartner, C., O’Brien, J.W., Bade, R., Verhagen, R., Hall, W., Stjepanović, D., Simpson, B.S. and Keller, E.L., 2026. National Wastewater Surveillance of Illicit Tobacco and Vaping Use Trends in Australia. JAMA Network Open, 9(2), p.e2557319.

Research Impact

In addition to the long-term partners, i.e. ACIC and ATO, the project has engaged with the Illicit Tobacco and E-cigarette Commissioner team to discuss the utilisation of data.

Grant Support

Australian Research Council Mid-Career Industry Fellowship