Australia announces measures to crack down on vaping

▶ The effects on people’s health from e-cigarettes are coming under more scrutiny than ever

Australia has announced a campaign to crack down on vaping and accused tobacco companies of creating the next “generation of nicotine addicts” by advertising their products to teenagers.

The government will take steps to ban disposable vapes, restrict flavours and colours and reduce the levels of nicotine.

Under the new rules, people will need a prescription to use vapes to help them quit smoking cigarettes.

It is the country’s strongest measures against tobacco and nicotine in more than a decade.

“Just like they did with smoking, Big Tobacco has taken another addictive product, wrapped it in shiny packaging and added flavours to create a new generation of nicotine addicts,” Health Minister Mark Butler said.

Vaping is widely considered to be safer than smoking cigarettes.

But the product is mostly sold to teenagers and young people, Mr Butler said.

“This is a product targeted at our kids, sold alongside lollies and chocolate bars,” he said.

“Vaping has become the number one behavioural issue in high schools and it’s becoming widespread in primary schools.”

The federal budget, scheduled for next week, will include A$234 million ($156 million) to fund the new measures to protect the public against the harm caused by tobacco and vaping products.

Australia has had some of the toughest anti-smoking laws in the world since 2012, when it forced producers to secigarettes in drab packets with no adornments.

Tobacco companies have turned to e-cigarettes that offer different flavours and created designs to attract a new generation of users.

When Chinese pharmacist Hon Lik invented the electronic cigarette in 2003, it was an attempt to wean himself off tobacco. In the 20 years since Mr Hon first lit up his device, debate has raged not only about the effectiveness of vaping as a way of quitting cigarettes but also if inhaling nicotine-infused vapour causes serious health problems of its own.

The Australian government, however, seems to have made its mind up. In the country’s strongest measures against tobacco and nicotine for more than a decade, the authorities this week said they will take steps to ban all disposable vapes, restricting flavours and colours, and reducing their nicotine levels. People will still be allowed to use vapes with a prescription to help them stop smoking cigarettes, but the country’s Health Minister, Mark Butler, was robust in his criticism of vaping, accusing the tobacco industry of using e-cigarettes “to create a new generation of nicotine addicts”.

The country has joined Singapore and Thailand in introducing tough measures to restrict a product whose long-term effects on health remain largely unknown. Although more research is needed into the consequences of e-cigarette use, the World Health Organisation has already said that they “are harmful to health and are not safe”. Cleveland Clinic warns vaping is more probably to lead to asthma and other lung conditions.

Vaping is a complex medical, legal and commercial issue that touches on personal freedoms and responsibilities. That said, the practice will likely face more restrictions in the future, mirroring the way that tobacco smoking in many countries was eventually pushed out of most public spaces. In the UAE, it is illegal to vape in offices or other closed spaces, sending out a signal about the practice’s social acceptability and the need for careful measures.

The health implications of e-cigarettes will continue to raise their head, particularly given the nature of who is vaping. Most people who vape are young – the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention says that since 2014, e-cigarettes have been the most commonly used tobacco product among American youth. The American Cancer Society has also cast doubt on the claims that vaping is a safer alternative to smoking, saying it “may play a part in some kids or teens wanting to use other, more harmful tobacco products”. This makes it a cause for concern.

It is this concern about vaping that seems to have informed Australia’s move and is fuelling the scrutiny that some regulators are applying to a product that came on to the market relatively recently but about which the public knew little. Scientific research into tobacco use took decades to establish the link between smoking and cancer. Vaping, as a social phenomenon, is still in its early years.

It is too soon to say if Australia is taking the right step. Critics have warned that a near ban on vapes may create a market for illegal e-cigarettes. But with so much still to be understood about vaping, more countries may start to err on the side of caution and rethink their relationship with Mr Hon’s famous device.