Under broad new laws, Vapes used by more than a million Australians will be prohibited.
In the biggest tobacco and vaping control measures in a decade, the government wants to crackdown the sale of vapes in retail establishments. New regulations announced on April 2 limit the sale of vapes to Australian pharmacies and “pharmaceutical-like” packaging.
Australia’s health minister announced a massive anti-vaping campaign, accusing cigarette companies of deliberately luring children into the habit in order to produce the next “generation of nicotine addicts.”
Australia will outlaw single-use disposable vaporizers, halt the importing of non-prescription variations, and set caps on the amount of nicotine that e-cigarettes can contain. These regulations are hailed as the biggest anti-smoking rules passed in the country in ten years.
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- Government officials in Canberra accuse the tobacco industry of using e-cigarettes to try to create a “new generation of nicotine addicts.”
- In Australia, nicotine-containing e-cigarettes can only be bought with a prescription; yet, the black market is flourishing.
According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Australia has one of the lowest daily smoking rates in the world
However, there has been a rise in the number of young people starting to smoke. So, it has officially announced the crackdown of vapes.
E-cigarettes are referred to as a “public health menace” by Mark Butler, Minister of Health and Aged Care.
He is putting out new regulations that aim to severely curtail the retail sale of vapes while limiting their flavours and colours. Additionally, all non-prescription imports and single-use, disposable vapes would be prohibited. People will still be allowed to use vapes, with a prescription, as a tool to quit cigarettes.
Both the Australian Medical Association and the Australian Cancer Council have praised the government’s reforms.
