Australia to ban all disposable e-cigarettes
Time： 2023-05-04
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Australia's e-cigarette regulatory policy has the latest update, and the country will release the most important tobacco and e-cigarette control measures i...
According to news on May 2, Australia's e-cigarette regulatory policy has the latest update, and the country will release the most important tobacco and e-cigarette control measures in a decade.
The Australian government announced today that it will ban the import of all over-the-counter e-cigarette products, including nicotine-free products, The Guardian reported.
For e-cigarettes that are still legal to purchase with a doctor's prescription, minimum quality standards for e-cigarettes will be introduced, including: restrictions on flavors and colors, drug-like packaging, and limited nicotine concentrations and volumes, which will be reduced.
Additionally, all disposable e-cigarettes will be banned.
The core message is that all disposable e-cigarettes are banned, non-prescription e-cigarettes are prohibited from being imported, and there will be a national standard for Australian e-cigarettes.
Health Secretary Mark Butler said Monday night that the tobacco industry is trying to create a new generation of nicotine addicts through vaping and he is determined to root out the public health threat.
It follows an inquiry into vaping reform led by the drug regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration, and submissions from health professional bodies, public health associations, individual health professionals and university researchers overwhelmingly support stronger border controls.
Many public health experts and agencies suggested to the inquiry that border controls should also be placed on non-nicotine e-cigarette products to prevent mislabeling and exploiting import loopholes.
Previously, manufacturers mislabeled nicotine-containing products as nicotine-free to circumvent import restrictions, making it easy for children to buy e-cigarettes, often inhaling nicotine and becoming addicted without knowing it.
According to a recent study published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, one in six 14- to 17-year-olds had vaped, and one in four 18- to 24-year-olds had vaped, while Butler has previously said there are as many people as there are two million vapers in Australia.
In addition, the government will work with the states and territories to end the sale of e-cigarettes in convenience stores and other retailers.
Prescriptions for nicotine vaping products will become more readily available for smokers trying to quit, with stricter standards around what can be bought at drugstores so people can be assured of the content of the products.
“E-cigarettes are going to be sold to governments and communities everywhere as a therapeutic product to help long-term smokers quit,” Butler said. “It’s not being sold as a recreational product — especially not for our kids.”
Butler said vaping had become the biggest loophole in Australia's history and the federal budget would include funding for tobacco and vaping reform, the largest sum since the introduction of plain packaging for tobacco products.
The funding includes $63 million for an evidence-based public health messaging campaign to deter people from starting smoking and vaping and encourage more people to quit.
Australian Public Health Association chief executive Terry Slavin described vaping as a public health disaster. He said the reforms would reposition Australia as a world leader in tobacco and vaping control.
"The ubiquitous and aggressive marketing of vaping products, especially to children, is a global scourge," he said.
The convenience store lobby, some harm reduction experts and citizens have been pushing for e-cigarettes to be regulated like cigarettes so the government could reap $300 million in tax revenue, but Butler and the health department have strongly rejected the proposal.
Australian Council on Smoking and Health co-chief executive Laura Hunt said it was encouraging to see the government take decisive action against harmful industries.
"We also acknowledge that the commitment to stop the sale of e-cigarettes in the retail establishments that have sprung up in every city and suburb goes a long way toward normalizing vaping culture," she said.
University of Sydney associate professor Becky Freeman found she was seen by NSW authorities late last year with a vaping device that claimed to contain 10,000 puffs.
Dr. Colin Mendelsohn, a member of the Australian Smoking Cessation Guidelines Expert Advisory Group and founding president of the Australian Tobacco Harm Reduction Association, has long expressed opposition to Australia's e-cigarette regulatory policy.
Smokers now need a nicotine prescription from a doctor to legally switch to vaping, he said. But few doctors are willing to prescribe nicotine, few pharmacists are willing to dispense it, and consumers and overwhelmed health insurance are footing the unnecessary extra costs.
He believes this will seriously hinder adult smokers' attempts to quit and create a predatory black market.
"Now, we've seen the results of one of the biggest public health policy failures of the past decade," he said. "The black market is ubiquitous, and shoddy disposable e-cigarettes are being blatantly sold to young people across the country."
To be clear, a heavily regulated adult consumer market is the only way to eliminate the black market, he said. But for now, the question of how to regulate these products has become an emotional one.
"Sentiment and policy never go hand in hand. Public policy should be evidence-based."
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