☕️ Vaping-use down amongst teens

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For the first time since 1967, the finals will be two Aussie teams, with Kimberly Birrell and John-Patrick Smith set to compete against Olivia Gadecki and John Peers.

I reckon an Aussie might just get the championship!

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The number of Australian teens aged 14 to 17 who are picking up vaping is at an all-time low, according to new data from the Cancer Council NSW.

It comes after new federal laws banning the sale of all vapes outside of a pharmacy came into effect last year.

Experts say that while the results show “early indicators of [the laws’] success,” continued enforcement is needed to ensure these trends continue.

From July last year, selling any kind of vape outside of a pharmacy became illegal. Flavours were also limited to tobacco, mint, and menthol.

From October, adults over 18 without a prescription could only buy nicotine vapes from select pharmacies. Minors still require a prescription to legally access vapes.

The Cancer Council NSW has conducted six national surveys of people aged between 14 and 17 since 2022. The latest survey included around 3,000 teens in the last three months of 2024.

A little over a quarter of teens who vaped from October to December 2024 reported buying their own vape — an 11% decrease from before the last phase of the new laws.

The majority of teens who bought vapes for themselves reported a tobacconist or vape store sold it to them illegally.

Buying a vape from a friend remained one of the most popular ways teens accessed vapes.

Overall, 85.7% of teens said they had never vaped, the highest result since surveys began.

Teens also reported reduced vaping in their social circle, with fewer young people reporting “most of my friends vape”.

The number of young people who said “none of my friends vape” is now at its highest level since 2022.

General awareness about the harms of vaping has increased, with 82% of those surveyed believing vapes are unsafe and can harm their brains. Around nine in 10 teens believed vapes could damage their lungs.

Lead researcher Professor Becky Freeman said while the legislative changes have been “having a positive impact on reducing adolescent vaping”, further monitoring and enforcement must continue.

“Unless importers and retailers know they will be subject to heavy penalties and loss of license to operate, they will continue to defy the laws,” Freeman said.

Reporting by Achol Arok.

The Greens want to scrap voluntary public school payments and give parents $800 for supplies like uniforms and laptops.

Independent analysis has shown nearly a third of Australian parents can’t afford back-to-school expenses.

The party is preparing for the possibility of negotiating with major parties to form a minority government at the next federal election.

The Labor Government said its tax cuts have done more to help people with the cost of living than a one-off payment would.

Australian public schools don’t charge fees for attendance.

However, government-funded schools regularly ask parents for “voluntary contributions” for a range of expenses, including classroom and excursion costs.

Primary school fees average around $250 a year, while secondary school hovers at $600 annually, according to analysis by financial comparison site Finder.

Uniforms, pens, calculators, textbooks, and exercise books are estimated to annually cost $700 per primary school student on average and $1,150 for a high school student.

Some states offer vouchers and payment plans to help parents pay these expenses.

For example, the Victorian Government offered parents at government and private schools $400 to help pay for 2025 school expenses.

The Greens have unveiled a policy proposal to abolish voluntary payments altogether.

The party cited Finder analysis showing school fees increased by more than 20% between 2021 and 2022.

It said this would be achieved through spending $2.4 billion over four years to fully fund public schools.

Greens Education spokesperson Penny Allman-Payne said: “Public school should be free, but families are having to dig deeper and deeper as fees have increased”.

The Greens have also proposed an annual $800 payment to help families pay for uniforms and laptops.

Independent analysis from the Parliamentary Budget Office, an agency which estimates the cost of political parties’ proposals, showed this would cost roughly $7.7 billion over four years.

Allman-Payne said “it shouldn’t cost thousands of dollars” to equip a child to go to school.

As a former teacher, she said some teachers “dip into their own pockets to pay for classroom basics.”

Greens leader Adam Bandt said: “Scrapping so-called ‘voluntary’ fees and securing back to school payments will be on the table in a minority Parliament.”

The Greens currently hold four of 151 seats in the Lower House, and 12 Senate seats.

A federal election must be held by 17 May. If neither the Labor nor the Coalition wins the 76 seats needed for a majority, both would have to negotiate with the Greens, minor parties, and independents to govern.

Education Minister Jason Clare said the Government had provided “real cost-of-living relief for families with children going back to school this year,” through the stage 3 tax cuts.

In a statement to TDA, Clare said some families would be receiving “more than double” the $800 offered by the Greens. He did not confirm whether the party would consider the proposal as part of a minority government negotiation.

Shadow Education Minister Sarah Henderson called the Greens’ plan “inflationary and economically reckless”.

Reporting by Harry Sekulich.

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Reporting by George Finlayson.

Police in the U.S. state of Florida have arrested a woman after a random traffic stop revealed she was carrying meth and other items associated with dealing drugs.

The drugs were located within a bag labelled “Definitely Not A Bag Full Of Drugs”.

The woman had already been arrested this month for possession of methamphetamine with intent to sell, but released on bail.

It’s not clear when she bought the bag.

Reporting by Rosa Bowden.

There have been several antisemitic attacks in Sydney in the past three months, which has led to governments and police, as well as leaders of other faiths, uniting to condemn, investigate and press charges against those responsible.

This week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced a national database to track antisemitic crime, following a meeting with the National Cabinet.

At the same time, the Australian Federal Police has announced it is investigating if “overseas actors or individuals have paid local criminals in Australia to carry out some of these crimes in our suburbs”.

We’ll tell you what you need to know in today’s podcast.