Thousands of vapes have been seized and a dozen businesses fined as worrying figures reveal the extent of teen e-cigarette use.

A total of 4536 nicotine vapes with a street value of more than $113,000 were confiscated from 15 retailers across Adelaide, with one unlicensed business alone accounting for 2013 illegal vapes.

One brand was found to have the equivalent of at least three cigarette packs of nicotine in one vape.

South Australian Health Minister Chris Picton expressed concern young people were increasingly getting hooked on vapes with damaging impacts on their health and wellbeing.

"Vaping is a looming health crisis that should ring alarm bells for all of us," he said on Monday.

Chief Public Health Officer Nicola Spurrier said vapes contained a complex cocktail of chemicals that increased the risk of serious lung damage.

Nine businesses were fined $500 for breaching their licence conditions and three were fined $1000 for selling e-cigarettes while unlicensed.

Authorities are still weighing up whether to take legal action, such as prosecution or licence removal, against two of the businesses.

The eight-week enforcement blitz comes to a close as research reveals one in four young Australians has vaped in the past year.

The study conducted by researchers at the University of Sydney surveyed 4204 respondents aged 14 to 17, finding 26 per cent had used an e-cigarette.

On average, users were introduced to their first vape at 14.

The report's authors said young people needed more support to help them kick their addiction.

They urged governments to provide more e-cigarette control policies, investment in prevention and cessation support, and communication campaigns.

The SA government's crackdown comes after it introduced new licence conditions requiring sellers prove their products are nicotine-free and provide information about their e-cigarette suppliers, importers or manufacturers to allow the products to be traced.

The new conditions are an interim measure while the federal government works through plans to stop the importation of non-prescription e-cigarettes and ban the sale of vapes in retail settings and single-use disposable vapes.

Enforcement efforts are stepping up across the country, with Queensland authorities seizing tens of thousands of vapes earlier in September.

West Australian health officials pulled off the state's biggest vape seizure in August, confiscating more than 300,000 illegal vapes worth a street value of $10 million in a Perth warehouse.