Australia will ban single-use disposable vapes. (Representative)
Sydney, Australia:
Australia announced a sweeping crackdown on vaping on Tuesday, accusing tobacco companies of entrapping “the next generation of nicotine addicts” by deliberately targeting teenagers.
Billed as the country’s biggest anti-smoking reforms in a decade, Australia will ban single-use disposable vapes, block the import of non-prescription versions, and cap how much nicotine can be in nicotine e-cigarettes. will ban
Australia has long been at the forefront of efforts to end smoking, and in 2012 became the first country to introduce “plain packaging” legislation for cigarettes – a policy copied by France, Britain and others.
But in recent years, Australia has struggled to contain an explosion in recreational vaping, particularly among teenagers.
Health Minister Mark Butler said in a speech excerpt, “Vaping has become the number one behavioral issue in high schools. And it is becoming more widespread in primary schools.”
“Like they did with smoking, Big Tobacco has taken another addictive product, wrapped it in flashy packaging and added flavoring to create a new generation of nicotine addicts.”
People will still be allowed to use vapes as a tool to help them quit smoking, even with a prescription.
“Vaping was sold as a therapeutic product to governments and communities around the world for a long time to help smokers quit,” Butler said.
“It was not sold as a recreational product—especially not to our kids.”
black market
In theory, it is already illegal to buy nicotine e-cigarettes without a prescription in Australia.
But in practice, they are widely available in small convenience stores across the country – a flourishing black market that the government has struggled to curb.
E-cigarettes were introduced in the early 2000s and were initially billed as a less harmful replacement for traditional cigarettes filled with cancer-causing chemicals.
But an emerging body of research has shown that vaping can also be highly addictive, and often young users eventually turn to cigarettes as a way to get their nicotine fix.
A 2022 study by the Australian National University found that teenagers who smoked were three times more likely to start smoking.
“Nicotine use in children and adolescents can lead to lifelong addiction issues as well as difficulties with concentration and learning,” the researchers said at the time.
“Vapes deliver hundreds of chemicals – some of them known to be toxic and many others with unknown effects.”
Cancer Council chief executive Tanya Buchanan said Australia was fighting a “vaping epidemic” and had a shrinking window of opportunity to take control.
He said e-cigarettes are not safe and threaten “Australia’s hard-earned successes in reducing smoking rates”.
Heavy taxes on tobacco sales mean Australia has some of the most expensive cigarettes in the world – a pack of 25 selling for around $50 (US$33).
According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Australia has one of the lowest daily smoking rates in the world, but has seen an increase in the number of people under the age of 25 who smoke cigarettes.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)