Recreational vaping banned under major Australian public health move

The Australian government are set to ban the importation of non-prescription vapes. It is the most significant tobacco and vaping control measures in the country within the last decade.

In a bid to reduce the number of youths that have taken up vaping, minimum quality standards for the products will be introduced in Australia including restricting flavours, colours, and other ingredients. Going forward, e-cigarettes will require pharmaceutical-like packing, and the allowed nicotine concentrations and volumes will be reduced. All single-use, disposable vapes will be banned.

Health Minister, Mark Butler, said the products are creating a new generation of nicotine addicts in the country.

In a speech directed to authorities this morning, Mr Butler said: ‘Just like they did with smoking…’Big Tobacco’ has taken another addictive product, wrapped it in shiny packaging and added sweet flavours to create a new generation of nicotine addicts.’

However, vapes are considered to be safer than normal cigarettes as the UK government have recently made the decision to hand them out for free as part of its ‘swap to stop programme’ – a project designed to ween people away from smoking.

Despite this, health experts have warned that vapes are not completely risk-free – they often contain chemicals and the long-term implications of using them are yet to be made 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 between 14-17 years old have vaped and one in four people aged between 18-24.

Although, Mr Butler has claimed he will make is easier for people to get a prescription for a vape for ‘legitimate therapeutic use’ despite banning them for the majority of the country’s population.

A timeline for implementation of this new law is due to be announced at a later date.

Image: Elsa Olofsson