Only a couple of weeks ago, three Australian smoking cessation experts published a paper urging local regulators to consider vape regulations which find an “optimal balance” between making the products inaccessible to minors whilst ensuring availability for adults wishing to use the products in order to quit smoking. Titled, “How should nicotine vaping be regulated in Australia? Drug and Alcohol Review 2023,” the study by Dr. Colin Mendelsohn, Dr. Alex Woodak and Dr. Wayne Hall, reiterated that regulations should also be relative to risks.
Last week, Vaping Post asked Dr. Mendelsohn how the study was received by local authorities. He revealed that anti-vaping organizations such as the TGA, NHMRC, Health Departments, AMA, and Cancer Council, had not responded to the paper as yet. “Typically, they ignore pro-vaping evidence,” he added. Sadly, he was right.
While the “vapes-via-prescription model” seems to give adult smokers a legit route to obtain the products, the reality is considerably more complex. Given the rife misinformation in circulation about vaping products, many Australian doctors believe that the devices can do more harm than good and are therefore not willing to prescribe them. This has led to many adult smokers giving up and reverting to smoking. In fact local smoking cessation rates, and the TGA itself has recently admitted that the local tobacco control efforts are clearly not working.
Australian authorities refuse to give up a failing strategy
Despite this, the Australian government has been stubbornly standing by its failing strategy. An example of this was when last week Health Minister Mark Butler arrogantly said that there is no chance they would ever adopt the UK’s successful “swap to stop” policy. On the other hand the government has decided to take an even harsher stance in what is being considered the biggest crackdown on vapes in Australia yet.
However, local regulators were not finished yet and have just announced they will be setting in place some of the harshest vape restrictions across the globe. Set to be fully revealed in the May budget, the new measures are believed to include a ban on the importation of most vapes, a plain packaging regulation, a nicotine cap and a ban on disposable vapes.
Moreover, the government is preparing to work hand in hand with states and territories to stop all sales of vaping products in tobacco shops, convenience shops and any other retail settings. While “vape police” could be monitoring any online sales to minors via links on social media platforms such as TikTok and Snapchat.
The perpetuation of negativity around vapes
Meanwhile a recent study reported that young people wishing to obtain the devices have been able to do so anyway. The study titled, “E-cigarette attitudes and use in a sample of Australians aged 15–30 years,” was published in the Australia and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, and aimed to provide enough insight to minimize “young people’s harm from e-cigarettes.” The research team surveyed a national sample of 1,006 Australians aged between 15 and 30 years, looking for motivations for vaping, how the devices were obtained, where there were used, exposure to bystanders, intentions to use among nonusers, and perceptions of e-cig harms.
Non-surprisingly, the compiled data indicated that past or present smokers were more likely to vape and that perceptions of addictiveness were linked with non-use. In line with arguments by tobacco harm reduction experts, this study presented fresh evidence that contrary to what the current anti-vape agenda in Australia states, most vapers are not teens being sucked into a new nicotine addiction via vapes, but smokers switching to the products in a bid to reduce harm or quit smoking.
Sadly, rather than focusing on this detail, the study authors focused on the fact that despite local restrictions, young people still had access to vaping products. The study authors adopted and used a negative tone throughout the paper, and of course this perpetuated general negativity around vapes has greatly contributed to the stalling of smoking cessation rates across the nation.
This was confirmed by another recent study. Titled, “Impact of vaping introduction on cigarette smoking in six jurisdictions with varied regulatory approaches to vaping: an interrupted time series analysis,” the study analyzed smoking rates and cigarette consumption in 6 nations/jurisdictions with different regulatory environments for vaping: Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia (in Canada), UK and Australia. Of these Australia has the harshest vape regulations and subsequently the lowest vaping rates. However it also has one of the lowest rates of progress with regards to declining smoking rates.
Mark Butler’s “$234m mistake”
Meanwhile, on learning about the newly announced restrictions, Vaping Post got in touch with Dr. Mendelsohn once again and asked whether there is any hope at all that these restrictions are not passed. He explained that the announcement followed a TGA consultation. “The TGA reported to Butler, he consulted his advisers (Chapman, Freeman, Banks etc) and then announced the changes! He has committed to these changes. Unless there is huge public reaction, they will happen.” He added that while his colleagues and himself were aware that something was brewing, the result is worse than anticipated.
The tobacco treatment expert called the new reforms a “$234m mistake,” adding that there are 1.3 million adult vapers in Australia and less than 10% have a prescription, which only means that the local vape black market will continue to thrive. “This current problem was created by regulations which require a prescription to vape. Less than 10% of vapers have a prescription, so the black market stepped in to supply adults but is also supplying dodgy, high nicotine products to young people.
Mark Butler’s approach is misguided. Doubling down on this flawed model is highly unlikely to be effective. Black market sales to kids will continue and more people will return to smoking.
The only way to shut down a black market is to replace it with a legal regulated one.
Nicotine vaping products should be made available from licensed retail outlets as adult consumer products without a prescription, bringing Australia into line with every other western country.
These changes focus almost exclusively on youth vaping. However,
• Most vaping by young people who have never smoked is experimental and short-term and very few get addicted to nicotine
• Vaping is reducing smoking by diverting young people from smoking overall. As vaping rates have increased, the decline in youth smoking rates has accelerated
• Most regular vaping is by kids who already smoke, for them vaping is likely to be beneficial.
Regulation should aim for a balance between access for adult smokers and restricted access for kids. Reducing access to an effective quitting aid for adults will do more harm overall to public health
Nicotine vaping products should be made available from licensed retail outlets as adult consumer products without a prescription, bringing Australia into line with every other western country.
Simply, we need to make available for adult smokers to help them quit and restrict access for kids. Focussing almost exclusively on youth vaping. Regulation should aim for a balance between access for adults and restricted access for kids,” concluded Dr. Mendelsohn.
One of Australia’s Opposition Parties Believes in Relaxing Vape Laws
