A group of teenage organisations is calling on the Australian government to impose tougher restrictions that could help them break their nicotine addiction, according to reports on March 27, revealing submissions to a major consultation on e-cigarette reform.

South Australia's Commissioner for Children and young people, Helen Connolly, has made a submission to the drug regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), They included comments written by about 950 teens ages 13 to 19 in a survey her office conducted about e-cigarettes.

"All we have to do is go to a cheap server...... where we can buy e-cigarettes without being asked to identify the age. Restrictions do need to be put in place to make them less accessible and then the addiction will be forced to stop. I know a lot of people, including me, get very angry at first for the first few days without nicotine, but if adults want kids to quit smoking, I truly believe this is the only way to do it." "A 16-year-old girl wrote.

One 15-year-old girl said: Stop treating them like a child addicted to e-cigarettes because you will be helping an adult instead of a child.

'Some of us don't try to look cool, some of us do struggle with it or use it as a coping mechanism to relieve stress,' one 17-year-old girl wrote in the comments.

Connolly said that based on comments from teens in the survey, the government should ban the import of nicotine-containing and nicotine-free vaping products unless they are sold in pharmacies.

Products must be properly tested, certified and labelled and should come in plain packaging, with the exception of colourants and tobacco, which should be banned, she added.

"Such a response must avoid punishing children and young people, while ensuring that all children have access to information and support, especially for those at risk of becoming dependent or addicted to nicotine e-cigarettes."

Their submission quotes a 17-year-old student as saying: 'I'm trying to quit smoking, but I can't think straight. I experienced the worst headaches of my life and I found it too difficult to quit.

Speaking to Guardian Australia, Health Minister Mark Butler said the status quo with e-cigarettes was completely unacceptable. We know the problem has exploded over the last few years, and we know the urgency to act this year.

Butler will host the second tobacco control roundtable in April. Health ministers are determined to take strong action against the proliferation of illegal e-cigarettes in Australia and to eliminate the threat, he said.

The TGA on Thursday published about 4,000 submissions to the inquiry into e-cigarette reform. The Australian Association of Heads of Independent Schools made a submission which stated that direct comments by students were considered a criticism.