Vaping has become one of Australia's biggest public health issues, with children as young as 14 taking up e-cigarettes.

New research by the Australian National University is being used to back a call for a government crackdown on access to e-cigarettes.

Vaping is often framed as a "better" alternative to smoking cigarettes but the report identified a multitude of risks, including unintentional poisoning.

"Our lungs are designed to breathe fresh air," lead research Professor Emily Banks said.

"People using vapes are inhaling a complex cocktail of chemicals."

More than 240 chemicals were found in toxicological analyses of non-nicotine e-cigarettes.

At least 38 of those chemicals were listed poisons and another 27 were associated with adverse health outcomes.

Users of nicotine e-cigarettes could also be poisoned by the nicotine itself, the report said.

Nicotine poisoning can cause seizures and respiratory depression, which can result in death, according to Cancer Council Victoria.

Australians can only legally access nicotine vapes if they have a prescription to use the products for the purpose of quitting smoking.

But the lack of strong law enforcement against the illegal sale of e-cigarettes is threatening Australia's hard-fought tobacco control successes, a Cancer Council spokesperson said.

"Every state and territory government must crack down on the hundreds of retailers illegally selling e-cigarette products outside of pharmacies, under the noses of authorities," council chair Anita Dessaix said.

The report also found that most use of e-cigarettes is not for smoking cessation, since most smokers who vape continue to smoke, and most use in young people isn't about quitting smoking.

More than one-third of e-cigarette users in Australia are under 25, with 11 per cent of the population aged 14 and over reporting e-cigarette use in 2019.

The Australian Medical Association is urging the government to clamp down, given the increasing use of vapes by children.

"Australian governments need to act now," AMA president Professor Steve Robson said.

"This will help us to start to tackle the issue of vapes being marketed and sold to children."

At least 32 countries ban the sale of nicotine e-cigarettes, 79 countries allow them to be sold while fully or partially regulating them and the remaining 84 countries do not regulate them at all.

The study is published in the Medical Journal of Australia.

© AAP 2023

South Sydney have hailed John Sattler as an embodiment of the club's proud history and one of their greatest players, after he died aged 80.

One of the game's finest ever forwards, Sattler died on Monday after a battle with dementia.

A four-time premiership-winner at the Rabbitohs, Sattler also captained Australia three times and is famously remembered for one of the toughest grand final acts in history.

After playing on with a jaw broken in three places in the 1970 decider against Manly, Sattler lifted the trophy, gave an acceptance speech before going to hospital for treatment.

"If anyone is to epitomise the true spirit of the South Sydney Rabbitohs it is John Sattler," chairman Nicholas Pappas said.

"He bled red and green. He would do anything for his team mates. He never took a backwards step. He always led from the front.

"He was loved by everyone connected with the Rabbitohs, whether it be one of his former teammates who he led to premiership glory, or the man in the street who loved South Sydney just as much as he did.

"He was tough and brave but fair, uncompromising on the field and empathetic off it, and he truly epitomised everything that we want the Rabbitohs to be."

Sattler's broken jaw remains the image that sums up a generation of rugby league famous for gladiatorial battles and physical toughness.

After being punched by rival forward John Bucknall in the fifth minute, Sattler's response was to ask teammates to hold him up so it wasn't obvious he was hurt.

"He tried to say something to me, but all I saw was a basement of four teeth and you just knew that he had broken his jaw," teammate Bob McCarthy recalled in 2018.

"He was talking too so it must have been killing, and he was getting smacked after as well.

"He was a tough man that Johnny Sattler."

Off the field, though, Sattler was known as Gentleman John.

A product of the Newcastle region, Sattler knocked back several contracts in Sydney before agreeing to join Souths, the club his father supported, in 1963.

He stayed there until his retirement from the NSWRL in 1972, and continued to have a close bond with the Rabbitohs until his death.

Former South Sydney captain Bryan Fletcher labelled Sattler a "legend on and off the field" on Monday.

Plaudits also came from as far a Rabbitohs-supporting Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and ARL Commission chair Peter V'landys.

"He was an inspirational leader who, decades after his retirement, took his rightful place at the front of the marches for South Sydney's reinstatement," Albanese tweeted.

Sattler's son Scott, a premiership-winning rugby league player in his own right, revealed in June 2021 that his father had been diagnosed with dementia in 2020.

But the news still rocked the rugby league world on Monday.

Master coach Wayne Bennett and Sattler toured New Zealand together with the Australian side in 1971 and played together for Queensland in 1973.

"My condolences to his family. South Sydney supporters today will be very sad, he was quite a legend at South Sydney," Bennett said on Triple M.

"A great player for them, a player of that era when the game started to change to give us the game we've got today.

"His toughness is certainly well-known and renowned for it, playing with a broken jaw. The position he played, in that era, you had to be really tough."

© AAP 2023

Rugby league great John Sattler has died, aged 80.

A legend of South Sydney, Sattler played 197 games between 1963 and 1972.

He is most remembered for his courageous performance in the 1970 grand final win over Manly.

Rival forward John Bucknall punched Sattler and broke his jaw early in the game but the Rabbitohs prop played through the injury and helped secure a famous 23-12 victory.

A photograph of Sattler, with his bloodied jaw, being carried on a teammates' shoulders has become one of rugby league's most iconic images.

Sattler won four premierships as captain of the Rabbitohs. His last in 1971 was South Sydney's last until their drought-breaking triumph in 2014.

Souths confirmed Sattler's death on Monday afternoon, hailing him as one of the finest players the club had ever seen.

"If anyone is to epitomise the true spirit of the South Sydney Rabbitohs it is John Sattler," chairman Nicholas Pappas said in a statement.

"He bled red and green. He would do anything for his team mates. He never took a backwards step. He always led from the front.

"He was loved by everyone connected with the Rabbitohs, whether it be one of his former teammates who he led to premiership glory, or the man in the street who loved South Sydney just as much as he did.

"He was tough and brave but fair, uncompromising on the field and empathetic off it, and he truly epitomised everything that we want the Rabbitohs to be."

In four appearances for Australia, Sattler captained his country three times.

"John was a legend of the game," ARL Commission chairman Peter V'landys said.

"The tales of his toughness were quite extraordinary, but they were also at odds with his nature off the field. He was a true gentleman.

"Those traits made him such a remarkable and celebrated leader. He captained his club South Sydney as well as his country on three occasions."

Sattler's son Scott, a premiership-winning rugby league player in his own right, revealed in June 2021 that his father had been battling dementia since early 2020.

Rugby league icons on Monday paid tribute to the former prop.

"Very sad. An ornament to the game," Phil Gould, who finished his playing career at South Sydney, tweeted.

"Fierce competitor on the field. Tough as they come. Off the field, he was a kind and thoughtful man.

"Always impeccably dressed. Pride in his appearance and presentation. Always supportive of others. Great role model. RIP John Sattler."

© AAP 2023

Actor and comedian Adam Sandler has become the 24th recipient of the Kennedy Center's Mark Twain Prize for American Humour at an evening event featuring stars Jennifer Aniston, Chris Rock and Conan O'Brien to celebrate his comedy and career.

Sandler, whose movies include Spanglish, The Wedding Singer and The Waterboy, was celebrated for his comedic chops that, while not always winning the hearts of critics, have won over fans and generated billions of dollars.

Dressed uncharacteristically in business attire instead of his trademark shorts and T-shirt, Sandler, 56, said he thought his suit was baggy.

"I don't know if this suit fits me or not, I just threw it on ... for the second time," he told reporters on the red carpet ahead of the show on Sunday.

"But everything else ... the honour itself, never thought about this in my entire life, never expected anything like this."

Comedian Dana Carvey referred to Sandler's longevity.

"No one's had a career like this," Carvey told reporters ahead of the show.

"Who's lasted this long? He's beloved."

Sandler's friends and acting partners, along with his mother and his wife, took to the Kennedy Center stage to gently rib the actor and highlight his development as a stand-up comic, movie actor and singer.

"You're making a terrible, terrible mistake," comedian O'Brien quipped at the top of the show to the Kennedy Center for selecting Sandler, a former Saturday Night Live star.

Sandler's mother, Judy, made light of his wardrobe preferences.

"I say he's a slob," she said in her own quasi-comedy routine, before praising her son.

"We are so proud of him."

Comedian David Spade expressed mock awe at Sandler's box office success.

"Four billion dollars in movies, with this much talent!" Spade said, with a hand gesture that suggested a minute amount.

Aniston, who appeared with Sandler in films such as Just Go with It and Netflix's Murder Mystery, praised her co-star.

"Adam Sandler, you have no equal," she said.

With the White House a short distance from the Kennedy Center, some presenters touched on politics.

Carvey did impressions of President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump, and comedian Chris Rock mentioned potential criminal charges against the Republican leader.

"Are you guys really going to arrest Trump?" Rock asked.

"This is only going to make him more popular."

Rock, who was slapped on stage at the Oscars in 2022 by actor Will Smith, also referred to Paul Pelosi, the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was attacked by an intruder in their San Francisco home last year.

"Paul Pelosi - only guy that knows how I felt," Rock said, as the Pelosis sat in the audience.

Sandler joins the ranks of other comedians who have received the Mark Twain Prize, including Jon Stewart, Dave Chappelle, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, David Letterman, Carol Burnett, Eddie Murphy and Ellen DeGeneres.

The prize is named after novelist and essayist Samuel Clemens, better known by his pen name, Mark Twain.

The show will air on CNN on Sunday.

© RAW 2023