Australia has become the first country in the world to restrict the sale and supply of e-cigarettes, apart from through pharmacies, after its vaping reforms bill passed in both houses of parliament.1
The sale, supply, manufacture, importation, and commercial possession of non-therapeutic vapes will be prohibited from 1 July, health and aged care minister Mark Butler said.
During a three month introduction phase, people 18 years and older seeking a therapeutic vape can obtain a prescription from a medical practitioner to purchase a regulated e-cigarette from a pharmacy. From 1 October, adults will be able to buy regulated e-cigarettes from a pharmacy without a prescription.
People younger than 18 will always require a prescription.
Butler said the bill is part of the Australian government’s raft of reforms to “stamp out recreational vaping” in Australia and return e-cigarettes to their original use as a smoking cessation tool.
“A product that was presented as a therapeutic good that would help hardened smokers kick the habit has been deployed by Big Tobacco as a tool to recruit a new generation to nicotine addiction,” Butler said. This is an opportunity to do something “meaningful and lasting” for the health of young Australians, he added.
Given the high rates of vaping in young people in Australia, many public health and medical experts welcomed the legislation.
Nicole Higgins, president of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, told The BMJ that the new law was necessary to keep the products out of young hands. “We need to make sure that we don’t start a new generation of nicotine dependent people,” she said.
Modelling from Cancer Council Australia estimated that more than 400 000 12 to 19 year olds were vaping at least monthly in the past year.2 It also estimated that 1185 fewer teenagers each week would take up vaping if legislation to ban the sale of non-therapeutic vapes is introduced.
Anita Dessaix, chair of Cancer Council Australia’s public health committee, said, “The bill will go a long way to making sure vapes are not readily available to young people and non-smokers. It signals to young people that vaping is only for therapeutic use and should not be considered socially acceptable.”
Sandro Demaio, chief executive of the health promotion foundation VicHealth, told The BMJ that by restricting the sale of vaping products to pharmacies “we are closing a loophole that has allowed supply of these products to young people.”
Additional vaping reforms introduced in Australia this year include the importation ban of disposable vapes and clear standards for the type of e-cigarette to be sold and supplied as a therapeutic product, including plain packaging and a prescribed nicotine content.3
Influence of Big Tobacco
Despite wide support for the reforms across the health sector,4 Terry Slevin, chief executive of the Public Health Association of Australia, said that “the fight against Big Tobacco, and e-cigarettes and all other nicotine products, still has a long way to go.” He called for continual and ongoing investment to further reduce rates of smoking and vaping.
Raglan Maddox, associate professor at the Australian National University, told The BMJ that the law change is “not a silver bullet” and that people will still need support to quit. He added that the review period for the legislation is important in order to accurately assess its impact and evolve as needed.
Jonine Jancey, a professor from Curtin University and an Australian Health Promotion Association fellow, told The BMJ that community education programmes will be needed to support the new legislation. Jancey highlighted the need to be “vigilant” about monitoring and enforcement, but said the new legislation shows that Australia is committed to protecting community health.
