Fewer young people are taking up smoking, but the same cannot be said about vaping.
Although illegal, many children have become hooked on addictive nicotine vapes, which come in a range of fruity flavours, masking worrying health impacts.
Experts warn children are particularly susceptible to the toxicity and addictive pull of the products.
It has left some schools so concerned that they have installed vape detectors in bathrooms to try to deter the behaviour.
How effective are vape detectors?
Vape Detection Australia's David Pugh said two years ago many schools had told him they did not need vape detectors "because we have good kids and our kids don't vape".
He said those conversations had changed to:
"When can we get them? Everyone's vaping and it's gotten out of control."
He said most schools he had worked with wanted the detectors installed in bathrooms, where "they've been incredibly effective."
Mr Pugh went on to explain that the units worked by picking up the specific chemical reaction let off by the vapes.
"They do pick up cigarette smoke and normal smoke too," he added.
And, he said, while the detectors do not record sounds, they do detect decibels and could alert teachers to antisocial behaviour, such as yelling.
The devices remotely connect to a computer program, then email or text teachers in real time to tell them vaping had been detected.
"So, if the school has security cameras, it can review who has come in and out of the bathrooms and then match [the footage] with the alert to see who is the guilty party," Mr Pugh explained.
Can students avoid detection?
Mr Pugh said some large schools have caught as many as 350 students vaping each week, while another school had "50 kids caught on the first morning the units came online".
He said while the units were effective, particularly as a deterrent, ventilation in the bathrooms could sometimes prevent chemicals from being detected.
"And some of the students are getting quite smart about what they're doing. I've heard of some students blowing [the vapours] down a toilet, potentially creating a vacuum," he said.
"But the majority of students would be going into a bathroom, going into a cubicle by themselves or with others, not being too strategic, and then obviously the unit kicks into action."
He said the detectors were "not a silver bullet that will stop the whole problem" and that schools needed to also make children aware of consequences, including health impacts.
'The nicotine equivalent of around nine packets of cigarettes'
Epidemiology and public health professor at the Australian National University Emily Banks said she was incredibly concerned about vaping among young people and the effects of the 200 different chemicals the products contained.
"E-cigarettes are being actively and aggressively marketed to young people — they're available in 17,000 different flavours, including bubblegum, fairy floss and lemonade," she said.
"I found one outside my daughter's school. It was covered in lollies and the device itself contained the nicotine equivalent of around nine packets of cigarettes.
"There's clear evidence that they cause addiction. They can also cause poisoning from inhalation, causing seizures and loss of consciousness.
"As well as lung injury and burns and trauma from exploding batteries."
She said while the long-term health impacts of vaping were still unknown, it was clear that children who vaped had issues with "memory, concentration, learning and mood."
"Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances we know … and it is very difficult for young people, particularly because they're more susceptible to addiction," she said.
"In schools, they're trying to learn and they're also in this cycle of craving and withdrawal."
She said the main objective should be to "turn off the supply of vapes" while supporting affected children to quit.
"A lot of these kids overestimate how much control they have and I think it's important to remember that the kids are the victims."
'We always ring their parents … whether they admit to vaping or they don't.'
Schools across Australia have installed vape detectors, including St. John Paul II Catholic College in Canberra.
Principal Catherine Rey said eight were fitted in bathrooms at the school after she became concerned by media reports that indicated vaping was rife among young people.
"We went down the vape detector pathway because we were really unsure about how [vaping] might develop in the community. It did appear from the media attention around it and anecdotes ... that it could become a very big problem."
"They are very effective actually … and it's been a fantastic deterrent.
"When we first installed them midway through last year, we clearly had kids who were testing the boundaries. But this year, we've had very little, which tells us that kids are not using the bathrooms for [vaping]."
She said the school was taking an educative approach by directing students who were caught vaping into workshops that instructed the pupils about the risks involved.
The broader school community was also being educated about the effects of vaping as part of physical education and health classes.
"And if we catch kids coming out of the bathroom after an alert, we always ring their parents … whether they admit to vaping or they don't," she said.
She said anti-vaping messages needed to be sent to children while they were at school and also at home.
