Under new rules in Australia, e-cigarettes will be more tightly regulated as prescription-only pharmaceutical products and nicotine-free vapes will be banned completely
By Alice Klein
2 May 2023
Vaping will be more tightly regulated under new legislation in Australia
Olaf Schuelke/Alamy
The Australian government will try to stamp out recreational vaping by banning nicotine-free vapes and only allowing those with nicotine to be sold by pharmacies in medical-style packaging to people with prescriptions.
“Vaping is creating a whole new generation of nicotine dependency in our community,” Australia’s health minister Mark Butler said in a press release on 2 May. “It poses a major threat to Australia’s success in tobacco control.”
Since 2021, Australia has only allowed nicotine-containing vapes to be sold by pharmacies to people who have been prescribed them by a doctor to help them quit smoking. However, nicotine-free vapes have been legally available to buy at convenience stores, petrol stations and other retailers.
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Because these nicotine-free vapes are difficult to regulate, “there are many cases of products being falsely labelled as nicotine-free or simply not listing nicotine in the ingredients even when it is there”, says Oliver Jones at RMIT University in Melbourne.
These nicotine-containing products, which often come in bright packaging with fruity flavours, are getting young people hooked, says Becky Freeman at the University of Sydney. According to a national survey, 5.3 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds were using e-cigarettes in 2019 – almost double the rate in 2016 – and research suggests those using them are three times as likely to take up smoking.
“Although vapes were first introduced as a tool to help adults quit or reduce smoking, these devices are largely used by youth who are not current or ever-users of tobacco,” says Courtney Barnes at the University of Newcastle in Australia.