28-06-2025
Here's what you're really inhaling in vapes
Welcome to Ask Doctor Zac, a weekly column from This week, Dr Zac Turner explores the truth about vaping.
QUESTION: Hey Dr Zac, I've heard that some of the vapes coming into Sydney now have synthetic fentanyl added to make them more addictive. These are the ones from China and they're illegal. Is this just BS made up by the government to force us to buy vapes from the doctor — or is there any truth to it? – Rory, 23, Nowra, NSW
ANSWER: Hi Rory, This might sound like a wild rumour you'd expect from the depths of Reddit — but brace yourself, because the truth is even more disturbing.
Yes, illicit vapes being smuggled into Australia have been found laced with synthetic opioids, including protodesnitazene, a lab-made chemical that's up to 100 times stronger than morphine.
These aren't just whispers — this was confirmed in both Australia and the UK in 2025.
One puff of a contaminated vape?
It could be your last.
We're not talking metaphor here. We're talking respiratory arrest in minutes. You wouldn't accept a mystery pill from a stranger, but vapes from dodgy imports? Same danger, prettier packaging.
Let's break down what you're actually inhaling
You were built for clarity, stamina, freedom — not breathing a chemical cocktail.
Every puff of a vape is like pouring gravel into the engine of your body — your lungs, your heart, your brain. Here's what's commonly hiding inside:
• Nicotine – often more concentrated than cigarettes, and it hits your brain within seconds
• Flavouring agents – including diacetyl, which causes 'popcorn lung' (a permanent lung disease)
• Solvents – which turn into formaldehyde and acrolein when heated
• Heavy metals – from the heating coil: lead, tin, nickel
• And now: synthetic opioids – which can kill you before you even realise something's wrong.
These chemicals aren't listed. These devices aren't tested like medication. You're breathing blindfolded.
Why vaping is far more dangerous than you think
The design of modern vape devices is one part science, one part sinister. They're engineered for maximum addiction speed — delivering a powerful nicotine hit faster than cigarettes. The younger you are, the worse the effect: vaping rewires your brain's reward system and primes you for lifelong substance addiction.
Even without synthetic opioids, vaping can:
• Reduce your oxygen capacity by 15–20 per cent in just one to two years
• Cause irreversible lung damage
• Shrink your VOâ‚‚ max — the oxygen your body uses during exercise
• Leave you breathless walking up stairs at 25
Some young Aussies are presenting to clinics with the lungs of a 65-year-old smoker — after only a few years of vaping. That's not shock value. That's medical fact.
And it's not just your lungs
Vaping doesn't stop at damaging your lungs. It quietly targets your entire body:
• Heart: raises blood pressure, hardens arteries, increases heart failure risk by 19 per cent
• Brain: reshapes dopamine pathways, heightens risk of future drug use
• DNA: causes cell mutations, accelerates ageing, and suppresses immunity
The chemical mix also weakens your lungs' defences, making you more prone to pneumonia, bronchitis, and even severe Covid complications.
You might feel fine now — but like asbestos and leaded petrol, vaping's true toll hits years after it's too late to undo the damage.
So Rory … government scare campaign?
Here's the honest truth:
Governments aren't always perfect messengers — but illegal vapes are a proven threat. Not just because they're unregulated, but because of what's now being found in them.
This isn't a PSA to push you into a clinic. It's a medical warning:
You don't have to die from vaping to lose everything. You just have to keep doing it.
So if you vape, now is the time to stop.
If you haven't started, don't.
And if someone offers you a colourful, fruit-scented stick from an unlabelled box? Politely say, 'I'm not ready to die for mango ice.'
Breathe easy, Dr Zac.
Got a question? Email askdrzac@
Dr Zac Turner is a medical practitioner specialising in preventative health and wellness. He has four health/medical degrees – Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery at the University of Sydney, Bachelor of Nursing at Central Queensland University, and Bachelor of Biomedical Science at the University of the Sunshine Coast. He is a registrar for the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine, and is completing a PhD in Biomedical Engineering (UNSW). Dr Zac is the medical director for his own holistic wellness medical clinics throughout Australia, Concierge Doctors.
