Disposable vape imports banned in national crackdown to combat teenage vaping

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The federal Health Minister has called it the biggest loophole in Australia's healthcare history. Today, that loophole closes. A nationwide crackdown on disposable vapes is now in force aiming to curb skyrocketing rates of teenage vaping in Australia.

Transcript

00:00 A resolution for some already up in smoke.

00:04 Have you vaped today already?

00:06 Yes, I did in the morning.

00:09 But a national crackdown could kick the habit.

00:11 I don't know, I still reckon I'll be able to get it.

00:15 I'll still sell it somewhere.

00:17 By the end of 2024, we're hoping it's going to be a much more difficult situation to get

00:22 your hands on a vape than it is right now.

00:24 Right now we absolutely have a free for all where corner shops are just disregarding the

00:28 law and selling them to young people.

00:30 From today, the importation of all single-use vapes is banned.

00:35 From March 1st, the importation crackdown broadens to all other non-therapeutic vapes,

00:40 including refillables.

00:42 Retailers can still sell nicotine-free vapes, but only to run down stocks.

00:47 All doctors and nurse practitioners can now prescribe nicotine vapes to help smokers quit.

00:53 Therapeutic vapes, shrouded in plain packaging, can only be purchased in pharmacies.

00:58 It will put more strain on our workload, but I am sure that pharmacists will gladly step

01:04 up and assist patients everywhere.

01:07 Despite it being illegal for retailers to sell vapes with nicotine, these are widely

01:13 available.

01:14 The government's next step will be to make commercial supply an offence.

01:18 That's when we'll start to see vapes vanishing from shops.

01:21 I think that black market is going to be increasingly one that's dominated by organised crime,

01:27 because it's much easier to stop your local friendly vape store.

01:33 The education sector is expecting the ban to bring challenges.

01:37 We are concerned about the behaviours that we might see from our children, because what

01:41 we now have is another generation of nicotine addicts, and going through that withdrawal.

01:46 A public health problem it's hoped will this year run out of puff.

01:50 [BLANK_AUDIO]

Category

Transcript

Recommended