While the USA languishes As part of e-cigarette reforms, Australia introduced some of the world’s most restrictive vaping laws on Monday, part of a global effort to combat what the World Health Organization has called “alarming“Increase in vaping among young people.”
With immediate effect Reforms prohibit the supply, manufacture, importation or sale of a vape device outside of a pharmacy in Australia. The ban applies to all vape devices, regardless of whether they contain nicotine or not.
Under the new regulations, Australians will also have to present a prescription from their GP to purchase a device. At the pharmacy, they will only have a limited choice of three flavours: menthol, tobacco and mint. They will have to consult with the pharmacist before purchasing.
The nicotine concentration in these e-cigarettes will be controlled and their packaging will be “pharmaceutical-like,” the The invoiceThe law aims to combat the “scourge” of recreational vaping, Health Minister Mark Butler said in a statement.
“It is a threat to public health, particularly to children and young people,” Butler said. About 22% of Australians aged 18 to 24 reported using e-cigarettes or vaping devices at least once, according to the government. Data last year. Nevertheless, at least 61% of these vapers in a similar age group have expressed a desire to quit, according to The Associated Press.
The laws would return “vaporizers and e-cigarettes” to their original purpose: as a therapeutic means of smoking cessation, the Ministry of Health said in a statement after the law was passed.
Why Australia’s approach is unique
Many countries have recently begun regulating their e-cigarette markets. According to a 2023 study, up to 121 countries or territories regulate electronic nicotine delivery systems. WHO Report. Of these countries, 33 have completely banned the sale or import of vapes, although e-cigarettes Black markets flourish in some of these countries, including India and Turkey.
Australia’s prescription model is unique, but many of the country’s other reforms have been adopted by wealthier countries. Australia banned disposable e-cigarettes on January 1, and the UK quickly followed suit, going even further: banning the sale of tobacco to anyone born in 2009 or later to create a “smoke-free generation.”
In the US, regulations have progressed much more slowly. The FDA has only approved 27 tobacco products.– and menthol-flavored e-cigarette products and devices, mostly from popular brands like NJOY and Vuse. Notably, other brands like Juul, Lost Mary and Elf Bar are not on the list, and these vapes continue to be sold illegally. Chinese e-cigarette manufacturers are also flouting vape restrictions and making millions Importing flavored disposable vaporizers to the American market.
Last month, during a controversial hearing on youth vaping, U.S. politicians slammed senior public health officials for failing to enforce their own laws.
“They are failing!” said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) during a heated exchange with Deputy Attorney General Arun Rao, representing the Justice Department. Those officials pledged during the meeting to move faster on enforcement.
Legal loopholes and problems
Although Australia is touting a “world-leading” reform of e-cigarette restrictions, the new law already contains loopholes. After a last minute changerestrictions will soon be relaxed somewhat. From October, adults over 18 will no longer need a prescription, but will need to have a “conversation” with their pharmacist before purchasing an e-cigarette device without a prescription. Children under 18 will still need a prescription to purchase an e-cigarette device.
In addition, e-cigarettes purchased in Australia must have a nicotine concentration of no more than 20 mg/ml, which is the limit in many other countries. In the USA, e-cigarettes with more than twice that nicotine content are dominate the marketaccording to Truth Initiative, a nonprofit anti-smoking organization.
An earlier version of the Australian law already required a prescription to purchase e-cigarettes, which could be sold on a larger scale – but retailers were able to circumvent the law by claiming that their e-cigarettes do not contain nicotine. Young people have found easy to get these vapes.
However, by now banning the sale of e-cigarettes outside pharmacies, the law effectively shifts the burden of managing the national e-cigarette supply from tobacco shops and retailers to pharmacists.
The Pharmacy Guild of Australia, which represents the country’s pharmacy owners, against it on the grounds that they did not want to sell “highly addictive” e-cigarettes without a prescription.
“The Senate’s expectation that local pharmacies will become e-cigarette retailers and e-cigarette garbage collectors is an insult,” the union said in a statement.
It is now up to each individual pharmacy whether they want to sell e-cigarettes. Pharmacists must check the age of the buyer, give them advice on how to quit smoking and make sure they have not bought more than a month’s supply. It is not yet clear what this supply is and how it will be quantified.
While illegal vape sellers spend Although the new regulations can result in up to seven years in prison, the law does not criminalize the possession of e-cigarettes for personal use, even illegal ones. According to the GuardianThere will be a 12-month amnesty period during which people with more than nine e-cigarettes can hand in or dispose of their excess e-cigarettes.
Michael Bonning, a spokesman for the Australian Medical Association, the country’s leading medical group, said the new law would bring about “a radical change in the accessibility of e-cigarettes”.
“These are world-leading reforms that doctors and all health professionals have been pushing for,” Bonning told Australian Broadcasting Corp.
However, it is still unclear how the enforcement of the retail ban will work. Since Monday, several convenience stores and tobacco shops have been able to continue to sell their flavoured nicotine products without any problems, Guardian reported.
“No ban. We will continue to sell,” a cashier at a supermarket in a suburb of Melbourne told Guardian.