Mr Hardinge, who works for the Murrumbidgee Local Health District, has seized 3500 nicotine vapes across the district, with a retail value of $125,000, since March last year.

"A lot of parents might see one in a bag in a pencil case and they actually wouldn't know that it's a disposable vape," he said. "That is an issue for trying to lift the awareness and trying to get on top of the problem."

E-cigarettes (also known as vapes) without nicotine are treated like a traditional packet of cigarettes, with restricted sales and display rules. Vapes that contain nicotine are illegal to possess and sell to people aged under 18.

"Across the district, they seem to be popping up in service stations," Mr Hardinge said.

"I would say 100 per cent of high schools in NSW have an issue with vaping. Unfortunately, a number of primary schools do too. I believe the awareness of what these vapes look like is very low."

The NSW health and education departments developed the 'Do you know what you're vaping?' campaign and toolkit resources in response to growing concern among parents, schools and the wider community about young people vaping.

The campaign and toolkit resources aim to educate young people aged 14 to 17 years, their parents and families, schools and educators, and health and community organisations about the harms of e-cigarettes.

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"It can be difficult to identify vapes, as they can look like common items such as pens, highlighters and USB drives," a NSW health spokesperson said.

According to Mr Hardinge, children in regional areas such as Albury-Wodonga can easily access vapes in Sydney or Melbourne, and sell them at school. He said transactions on social media could be hard to regulate.

Mr Hardinge said he encouraged anyone who knew of retailers selling vapes to children to make an anonymous complaint on the NSW Health website.

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