Charisa Bossinakis
The Australian government will introduce ‘world-first’ reforms to crack down on the black market of vaping.
The country's biggest reforms will be introduced in the May budget in a huge health shake-up in a bid to stop a new generation of nicotine addicts.
The new policies will target packaging, importation, availability and contents.
The government said they would roll out a AUD $234 million (USD $155m) package to fund the new measures.
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Under the current laws you need a prescription to purchase a vape with nicotine over the counter, however hundreds of thousands of young people are still buying them in convenience stores nationwide.
Health Minister Mark Butler is expected to unveil the changes today (May 2), which will include stopping the import of non-prescription vapes, restricting flavors, colors, and other ingredients, plain packaging, reducing nicotine concentration and banning all single-use, disposable vapes.
It will still be legal to buy a nicotine vape with a prescription; however, without it would become increasingly difficult.
“The former government allowed this black market to flourish for too long and as a result vaping has become a menace in our schools and society,” Mr Butler is expected to tell The National Press Club, as per The Australian Financial Review.
“Vapers are three times as likely to take up smoking, which explains why under 25s are the only cohort in the community currently recording an increase in smoking rates,” he will add, according to speech notes.
However, the crackdown won’t just stop there as the Albanese Government will also work alongside states and territories to shut down the sale of disposable vapes in retail and convenience stores.
Vaping use is on the rise in Australia.
According to data compiled by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, E-cigarette use by Australians aged 14 or older has more than doubled from 2016 to 2019.
It is most common among smokers aged 18 to 24 at 18.7 per cent, which is a significant jump from 6.8 per cent in 2016.
In a recent study published online in The Journal of Nuclear Medicine, researchers observed participants who were E-cig users and non-smokers to compare lung inflammation.
It was found that E-cigarettes were associated with lung inflammation and inflammatory lung disease, which, according to Very Well Health, can cause wheezing, breathing problems, and chest pain and tightness.
While inflammation can be treated through medication, in some cases, surgery is required.