Recreational Vaping to Be Banned in Australia

Australian Minister for Health and Aged Care Mark Butler speaks at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on July 28, 2022 . (Martin Ollman/Getty Images)

Australian Health Minister Mark Butler is launching a government-led crackdown on Big Tobacco’s vaping products that are currently creating a new generation of nicotine addicts.

Butler, who will outline the campaign at the National Press Club in Canberra on Tuesday, will call vaping products one of the most significant health and behavioural issues Australian schools face and one that has seen four-year-olds hospitalised for poisoning.

“This is a product targeted at our kids, sold alongside lollies and chocolate bars,” Butler will say in the address.

“Vaping has become the number one behavioural issue in high schools, and it’s becoming widespread in primary schools.

“This must end.”

Butler will note that Australia’s hard-won gains against nicotine addiction are under threat, with the reduction in smoking in the country at risk of being undone by a “new threat.”

“Vaping was sold to governments and communities around the world as a therapeutic product to help long-term smokers quit,” he will say.

“It was not sold as a recreational product, especially not one for our kids. But that is what it has become: The biggest loophole in Australian history.”

Butler has previously called vaping a “very serious public health menace” and noted that the government was committed to taking action quickly.

“I’m determined to take action sooner rather than later,” he said on April 18.

“This thing is getting worse very, very quickly, so there is an obligation, I think, on all governments to take considered, strong action in this area and to do that as soon as we practicably can.”

Multi-Million Dollar Package to Regulate

According to the minister’s speech, the federal government will be allocating a $234 million boost in the budget for the tougher regulation of e-cigarettes, including new controls on their importation and packaging.

The government will also join up with the states and territories to shut down the sale of vapes in retail and convenience stores while making it easier to get a prescription for therapeutic use.

Additionally, they will tackle the growing black market in vapes by increasing product standards, including restricting flavours and colours.

Meanwhile, a $63 million public health campaign will be established to deter Australians from vaping and encourage them to quit.

Support programs helping Australians quit the habit will be bolstered by a $30 million investment, with education in smoking and nicotine cessation among health practitioners to be strengthened.

The government will commit a further $140 million for a program helping Indigenous people stop smoking, which will be expanded to include vaping.

Research Reveals 4 in 5 Australian Teenagers Use Vapes

The federal crackdown follows a shocking report from the Australian National University (ANU) that found four out of five teenagers surveyed, aged between 15 to 17, found it easy or somewhat easy to buy vapes in retail stores.

The study also found that one-third of current e-cigarette users in Australia were under 25, and half were under 30.

Lead author of the report Professor Emily Banks, from the ANU National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, said the report confirmed there were multiple risks associated with e-cigarettes, particularly for non-smokers, children, adolescents and young adults.

“Recent evidence shows vaping is becoming more popular, especially among children and adolescents, even though it is illegal except on prescription,” Banks said.

“Almost all e-cigarettes deliver nicotine, which is extremely addictive. Addiction is common in people using vapes, and young people are especially vulnerable to addiction as their brains are still developing.

According to the report, in 2019, 11 percent of the total Australian population aged 14 and over reported using e-cigarettes, with around a quarter of people aged 18-24 reporting use and five percent reporting current use.

“We tend to trivialise addiction, saying things like ‘I’m addicted to chocolate’. Addiction is a serious health issue, and people addicted to vapes are going through repeated cycles of withdrawal, irritability, feeling bad and craving until they vape to feel normal again,” she said.

“For children and adolescents, that can mean having difficulty sitting through a lesson or a meal with family.”

Other risks identified in the review included poisoning.

The report found that the risk of small children being exposed to vapes can cause seizures and loss of consciousness caused by nicotine overdose, headache, cough, and throat irritation. There was also evidence of adverse effects on blood pressure, heart rate and lung functioning.

Australian Medical Association President Professor Steve Robson said the findings of the ANU study were evidence there was a need for strong action to be taken on vaping products.

“There is now more than enough evidence for strong action to enforce Australia’s prescription-only model for vaping products, which we know are harmful and can be a gateway to smoking for young people,” Robson said.

“Australian governments need to act now to enforce existing laws and clamp down on the illegal non-prescription sale of e-cigarettes, as well as strengthen controls on the importation of both nicotine and non-nicotine vaping products. This will help us start to tackle the issue of vapes being marketed and sold to children.”

AAP contributed to this article.