Australia to ban the import of single-use vapes from January

2023-11-28 09:36:22

Updated Tuesday, November 28, 2023 – 08:36

This is the first of a series of measures that the Government plans to implement to tighten the laws against vaping.

JOHN KEEBLE | GETTY

Australia announced this Tuesday that it will ban the import of single-use vapes starting in January 2024, the first in a series of measures that the Government plans to implement to tighten laws against vaping.

Australian Health Minister Mark Butler explained in a statement that the first stage of the new vaping reforms will be implemented on January 1 and new measures will come into force throughout 2024in an attempt to protect the population, especially young people, from nicotine dependence.

“These reforms will protect Australians, particularly young people, from the harms of vaping and nicotine dependence. All Australian (regional) health officials have agreed to implement a concerted and coherent national response to vaping,” pointed out the holder of the wallet.

As of January 1, 2024, the Government will implement the ban on the import of single-use disposable vapes, as long as the initiative receives approval from the relevant legislative and administrative provisions.

The measure is part of the Australian Government’s agenda to reduce the effects of electronic cigarette consumption and completely eliminate recreational useso new laws will also be introduced to prevent single-use vapes from being manufactured, advertised and supplied in the country.

Although Australia already prohibits the purchase or import of electronic cigarettes or nicotine vapes without a prescription from 2021, the addiction rates continue to skyrocket and “a whole new generation of nicotine dependence“, points out Butler.

For this reason, a new process will also come into effect for doctors and nurses to prescribe therapeutic vapes, since as of March 2024, the personal importation of these devices will be prohibited.

Vaping reform also includes measures such as limit flavorsreduce the permitted concentrations of nicotine and require pharmaceutical packaging during 2024, although companies will have a transition period to comply with the new requirements.

According to data from the Ministry of Health, one in seven young people between 14 and 17 years old and one in five between 18 and 24 years old currently vape, which attests that the Vaping has become “a major public health problem,” the minister specifies.

The note further highlights that “there is strong and consistent evidence” that young Australians who vape are around 3 times more likely to start smoking tobacco compared to young Australians who have never vaped.

Y “The vast majority of vapes contain nicotine and children are becoming addicted. Vaping is a gateway to smoking and smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death and illness in Australia,” concluded Butler, recalling that the Smoking is responsible for the deaths of nearly 20,000 Australians each year.

The reform to combat and minimize the impacts of electronic cigarettes and similar devices will receive the contribution of approximately 29.5 million Australian dollars (about 17.8 million euros), predicted in the 2023-24 budget.

Additionally, the Government will inject an additional 25 million Australian dollars into the Australian Border Force and another 56.9 million local dollars into the Therapeutic Goods Administration over two years.