Nation’s health ministers seek strong anti-vaping laws

Strong vaping laws to prevent devastating health impacts on children are being pursued by Australia’s health ministers. Source: The New Daily.

Legislation was introduced last month to stop the importation, manufacture, supply and commercial possession of disposable single-use vapes, making the e-cigarettes only accessible via prescription at pharmacies.

The crackdown would also result in jail time or fines up to $2.2 million for breaches.

Health ministers from every jurisdiction have called on the Australian Parliament to pass the legislation – which would take effect from July – amid a growing nicotine crisis for young people comparable to smoking five decades ago.

“Australian health ministers are not going to stand by and let history repeat itself,” health ministers said in a joint statement on Friday.

They are concerned about the impact vaping is having on Australian children because of the easy access and how readily available e-cigarettes are – most are sold at convenience stores, often down the road from schools.

“It’s now clear vapes are being used to recruit a new generation to nicotine addiction, and it’s working,” they said.

The latest national data revealed one in six high school students recently vaped and young people who do it are three times more likely to take up smoking.

Federal Health Minister Mark Butler said the bill was not about prohibition but regulation and returning the devices to what they were originally sold as – therapeutic products.

The Australia Medical Association supports the legislation to get e-cigarettes out of children’s hands as an opportunity to protect their health.

The legislation is yet to pass through Parliament and the Coalition and the Greens have declared their stance.

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Fears history repeating with vaping uptake among kids (By Savannah Meacham, AAP via The New Daily)