Vaping dependence a concern, says health service

Mr Powell said the speed at which people could become addicted to vaping was concerning.

"The vapes are so convenient to use that frequency of use increases quickly, leading to dependence," Mr Powell said.

"Once dependence is established it's a lot harder to make the change.

"I always say the safest use is no use but I respect that for some that is a lot easier said than done."

Mr Powell said he was concerned about the increase in vaping across the world.

He said he was concerned about the impacts of young people, with little known about the long-term effects.

Mr Powell's comments came after the federal government revealed it would ban the import of all e-cigarettes.

The only exception would be pharmaceutical products used to help people quit smoking.

Health Minister Mark Butler said he was concerned about young people vaping.

"Vaping was sold to communities around the world, including the Australian community, as a therapeutic good that was designed to assist hardened smokers kick the habit, generally people in middle age or even later age who have been smoking for many, many years and having trouble kicking the habit of smoking cigarettes," he said.

"What we've found, though, some years into this experiment, is that's not what is happening.

"This is now a product that quite obviously is being marketed towards younger people, including relatively young children, you see this in the packaging, you see this in the flavouring."

Mr Butler said the vast bulk of people using vapes in Australia were very young.

"About one-in-six high school aged students are vaping," he said.

"About one-in-four young adults in their late teens and very early 20s are vaping as well. And this is the strategy that big tobacco has always had in mind. We also know that the only cohort in our community where smoking cigarettes is actually rising, are our youngest people, because you are more than three times more likely to take up cigarettes if you have vaped, than if you have not vaped.

"This is clearly a strategy to recruit a new generation to smoke cigarettes and health ministers across the country have made it very clear: we are simply not willing to let this happen."