Australia’s left-wing Labor government announced a nationwide ban on recreational vaping Tuesday.
At the same time it is tightening other e-cigarette laws in a huge crackdown on the tobacco industry as it tries to drive teenagers away from smoking in any form.
Canberra wants to see an end to all disposable vapes, which often come in fruity flavours popular with young people, ban the import of non-prescription vapes and limit nicotine levels.
It says it is aiming for the sale of vapes to be confined to helping smokers quit.
Australia already has some of the strongest anti-smoking laws in the world and high rates of taxation on the tobacco product.
The Australian Taxation Office collected some $14.3 billion in tobacco excise for 2020–21 alone.
“Just like they did with smoking, big tobacco has taken another addictive product, wrapped it in shiny packaging and added flavours to create a new generation of nicotine addicts,” Health Minister Mark Butler said in a speech announcing the ban at the National Press Club, Sky News Australia reports.
Under the new rules, vapes will be sold only in pharmacies and require “pharmaceutical type” packaging.
A man is seen vaping as racegoers leave the track after Sydney Racing Chandon Ladies Day at Rosehill Gardens on March 12, 2022 in Sydney, Australia. That simple act has now been banned nationally. (Mark Evans/Getty Images)
Vaping, widely seen as a safer alternative to smoking cigarettes and useful for helping smokers quit, involves heating a liquid that contains nicotine in what is called an e-cigarette and turning it into a vapour that users inhale.
But health experts advise vapes are not risk-free – they can often contain chemicals – and the long-term implications of using them are not yet clear.
The Australian government argues they are a public health threat, disproportionately affecting young people, many of whom haven’t smoked before.
Research suggests one in six Australians aged 14-17 years old has vaped while one in four people aged 18-24, the BBC reports.
“Only one in 70 people my age has vaped,” said Butler, who is 52.
He said the products are being deliberately targeted at kids and are readily available alongside sweets and chocolates in retail stores.
The minister added vaping had become the “number one behavioural issue” in high schools. Some have begun installing vape detectors in bathrooms, Australian media have reported.
A timeline for implementation will be announced by Canberra at a later date.